Adjacent Words

Penetrate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PEN'ETRATE, v.t. [L. penetro, from the root of pen, a point.]
1. To enter or pierce; to make way into another body; as, a sword or dart penetrates the body; oil penetrates wood; marrow, the most penetrating of oil substances.
2. To affect the mind; to cause to feel. I am penetrated with a lively sense of your generosity.
3. To reach by the intellect; to understand; as, to penetrate the meaning or design of any thing.
4. To enter; to pass into the interior; as, to penetrate a country.
PEN'ETRATE, v.i. To pass; to make way.
Born where heaven's influence scarce can penetrate.
1. To make way intellectually. He had not penetrated into the designs of the prince.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance; "The bullet penetrated her chest" [syn: penetrate, perforate]
2: come to understand [syn: penetrate, fathom, bottom]
3: become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions; "It dawned on him that she had betrayed him"; "she was penetrated with sorrow" [syn: click, get through, dawn, come home, get across, sink in, penetrate, fall into place]
4: enter a group or organization in order to spy on the members; "The student organization was infiltrated by a traitor" [syn: infiltrate, penetrate]
5: make one's way deeper into or through; "The hikers did not manage to penetrate the dense forest"
6: insert the penis into the vagina or anus of; "Did the molester penetrate the child?"
7: spread or diffuse through; "An atmosphere of distrust has permeated this administration"; "music penetrated the entire building"; "His campaign was riddled with accusations and personal attacks" [syn: permeate, pervade, penetrate, interpenetrate, diffuse, imbue, riddle]

Merriam Webster's

verb (-trated; -trating) Etymology: Latin penetratus, past participle of penetrare, from penitus deep within, far; akin to Latin penus provisions Date: circa 1530 transitive verb 1. a. to pass into or through b. to enter by overcoming resistance ; pierce c. to gain entrance to 2. a. to see into or through b. to discover the inner contents or meaning of 3. to affect profoundly with feeling 4. to diffuse through or into intransitive verb 1. a. to pass, extend, pierce, or diffuse into or through something b. to pierce something with the eye or mind 2. to affect deeply the senses or feelings Synonyms: see enter

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. a find access into or through, esp. forcibly. b (usu. foll. by with) imbue (a person or thing) with; permeate. 2 tr. see into, find out, or discern (a person's mind, the truth, a meaning, etc.). 3 tr. see through (darkness, fog, etc.) (could not penetrate the gloom). 4 intr. be absorbed by the mind (my hint did not penetrate). 5 tr. (as penetrating adj.) a having or suggesting sensitivity or insight (a penetrating remark). b (of a voice etc.) easily heard through or above other sounds; piercing. 6 tr. (of a man) put the penis into the vagina of (a woman). 7 intr. (usu. foll. by into, through, to) make a way. Derivatives: penetrable adj. penetrability n. penetrant adj. & n. penetratingly adv. penetration n. penetrative adj. penetrator n. Etymology: L penetrare place or enter within f. penitus interior

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Penetrate Pen"e*trate, v. i. To pass; to make way; to pierce. Also used figuratively. Preparing to penetrate to the north and west. --J. R. Green. Born where Heaven's influence scarce can penetrate. --Pope. The sweet of life that penetrates so near. --Daniel.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Penetrate Pen"e*trate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Penetrated; p. pr. & vb. n. Penetrating.] [L. penetratus, p. p. of penetrare to penetrate; akin to penitus inward, inwardly, and perh. to pens with, in the power of, penus store of food, innermost part of a temple.] 1. To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to effect an entrance into; to pierce; as, light penetrates darkness. 2. To affect profoundly through the senses or feelings; to touch with feeling; to make sensible; to move deeply; as, to penetrate one's heart with pity. --Shak. The translator of Homer should penetrate himself with a sense of the plainness and directness of Homer's style. --M. Arnold. 3. To pierce into by the mind; to arrive at the inner contents or meaning of, as of a mysterious or difficult subject; to comprehend; to understand. Things which here were too subtile for us to penetrate. --Ray.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(penetrates, penetrating, penetrated) 1. If something or someone penetrates a physical object or an area, they succeed in getting into it or passing through it. X-rays can penetrate many objects... VERB: V n • penetration (penetrations) The exterior walls are three to three and a half feet thick to prevent penetration by bombs. N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl 2. If someone penetrates an organization, a group, or a profession, they succeed in entering it although it is difficult to do so. ...the continuing failure of women to penetrate the higher levels of engineering... VERB: V n 3. If someone penetrates an enemy group or a rival organization, they succeed in joining it in order to get information or cause trouble. The CIA had requested our help to penetrate a drugs ring operating out of Munich... = infiltrate VERB: V n • penetration ...the successful penetration by the KGB of the French intelligence service. = infiltration N-UNCOUNT: with supp 4. If a company or country penetrates a market or area, they succeed in selling their products there. (BUSINESS) There have been around 15 attempts from outside France to penetrate the market. VERB: V n • penetration ...import penetration across a broad range of heavy industries. N-UNCOUNT: with supp

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Pierce, perforate, bore, enter. 2. Touch, make sensible, affect. 3. Discern, understand, comprehend. II. v. n. 1. Pass, make way, enter. 2. See into, make way intellectually.

Moby Thesaurus

affect, auger, be glimpsed, be hep to, be on to, be realized, be remembered, be wise to, benumb, bespread, besprinkle, bite, bore, breathe, brew, broach, catch on to, charge, chill, color, come across, come alive, come home to, come in, come through, comprehend, countersink, crawl with, creep with, cut, dawn on, decoct, descry, diffuse, dig, discern, discover, dredge, drill, drive, dye, ease in, empierce, encroach, enter, entincture, extend throughout, fathom, figure out, fill, find out, fix, flavor, freeze, frost, frostbite, gain entree, get, get across, get at, get into, get over, get through, get to, go deep, go in, go into, go through, go through one, gore, gouge, gouge out, grasp, hit, hole, honeycomb, imbrue, imbue, impale, impregnate, infiltrate, infuse, ingress, inject, inoculate, insert, insinuate, instill, interject, interpenetrate, interpolate, introduce, intromit, invade, jab, knife, lance, leave no void, leaven, make an entrance, make an impression, make out, make way into, melt, melt the heart, move, needle, never be forgotten, nip, numb, obsess, occupy, overrun, overspread, overswarm, pass through, perceive, percolate, perforate, perfuse, permeate, pervade, pierce, pink, plumb, pop in, prick, probe, punch, puncture, put in, rankle, reach, ream, ream out, refrigerate, register, riddle, run through, saturate, season, see, see daylight, see into, see the light, see through, seep in, sense, set in, sink in, skewer, slip in, smart, soak in, soften, spear, spike, spit, stab, steep, stick, stick in, sting, stir, strike, suffuse, swarm with, tap, teem with, temper, throw in, tincture, tinge, touch, touch a chord, transfix, transfuse, transpierce, trepan, trephine, trespass, tuck in, tumble to, uncover, understand, unravel, whip in, wise up to, work out