penetrate

Verb

Meaning

To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to effect an entrance into; to pierce; as, light penetrates darkness.

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.

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.

To pass; to make way; to pierce. Also used figuratively.

Source: Webster's dictionary

Synonyms

diffuse infiltrate permeate fathom imbue get through perforate pierce riddle dawn click drill enter understand bottom
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Antonyms

miss need err seal withdraw exit
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Hypernyms

enter join understand advance progress introduce

Hyponyms

pierce riddle force cut break strike

Phrases with the word

penetrate through something

Derivatives

penetrated penetrating

Examples

An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot. Thomas Paine

Mathematicians have tried in vain to this day to discover some order in the sequence of prime numbers, and we have reason to believe that it is a mystery into which the human mind will never penetrate. Leonhard Euler

Vehicular traffic is completely forbidden in the green strips, where tranquility shall reign and the curse of noise shall not penetrate. Le Corbusier

The violinist must possess the poet's gift of piercing the protective hide which grows on propagandists, stockbrokers and slave traders, to penetrate the deeper truth which lies within. Yehudi Menuhin

Opinions are like nails: the more often you hit them the deeper they penetrate. Chinese Proverb

The eye cannot penetrate darkness. Maasai Proverb

Close letter words and terms

penetrancy penetrant penetrantly penetrate through something penetratee penetratin