penetrate
To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to pierce.
Example
“Light penetrates darkness.”
Other meanings
To achieve understanding of, despite some obstacle; to comprehend; to understand.
“I could not penetrate Burke's opaque rhetoric.”
To affect profoundly through the senses or feelings; to move deeply.
“to penetrate one's heart with pity”
Related words
- impenetrate
- interpenetrate
- penetrance
- penetratee
- penetrator
- repenetrate
- nonpenetrated
- underpenetrated
- unpenetrated
- overpenetrate
- penetration
- penetrating fluid
Word history
From Latin "penētrātus".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “penetrate” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.