penetrate
verb (used with object)
to pierce or pass into or through.
were penetrating
-
past progressiveof penetrate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Calhoun’s diagnosis and prescription were penetrating and, when fully digested, quite astonishing.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2021
The State Department took them for what they were: penetrating comments on contemporary Russia.
From Time Magazine Archive
Later, when Broedlow calmly shifted his troops east of the Isonzo River, the Yugoslavs asked how come the Yanks were penetrating "Yugoslav territory."
From Time Magazine Archive
His liquid topaz eyes were penetrating — trying futilely, I assumed, to lift the truth straight from my mind.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
Master and servant, employer and employed, became facts; and dim suspicions as to economic laws were penetrating the minds of the early thinkers.
From Women Wage-Earners Their Past, Their Present, and Their Future by Helen Campbell
