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penetrate

/ˈpɛnɪtɹeɪt/verb3 syllables

Penetrate means: become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions.

Synonyms for penetrate18

verb, as in become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions

click, get through, dawn, come home, get across, sink in, fall into place

verb, as in spread or diffuse through

permeate, pervade, interpenetrate, diffuse, imbue, riddle

verb, as in come to understand

fathom, bottom

verb, as in pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance

perforate

verb, as in enter a group or organization in order to spy on the members

infiltrate

also used for penetrate

ransack

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does penetrate mean?7

verb

1

become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions“It dawned on him that she had betrayed him”

2

spread or diffuse through“An atmosphere of distrust has permeated this administration”

3

come to understand

4

pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance“The bullet penetrated her chest”

5

enter a group or organization in order to spy on the members“The student organization was infiltrated by a traitor”

6

make one's way deeper into or through“The hikers did not manage to penetrate the dense forest”

7

insert the penis into the vagina or anus of“Did the molester penetrate the child?”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Penetrate in a sentence

  • Bumblebees can sting repeatedly like wasps, but their stinger doesn't easily penetrate human skin.shekitten
  • The bullet penetrated his chest, leaving him in critical condition.CM
  • His eyes seem to penetrate me to the bottom of my soul.felidad
  • Hackers find new ways and means to penetrate private and public networks.rul
  • I finally penetrated the meaning of the riddle.unknown
  • The sunshine penetrated the thick leaves of the trees.unknown
  • Light penetrated the room only through a skylight._undertoad
  • The light penetrated the waves like pillars from heaven.Eccles17

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of penetrate

as a verb

past tense
penetrated
present participle
penetrating
third-person singular
penetrates
past participle
penetrated