penetrate
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penetrate
- /ˈpɛnɪtɹeɪt/
- /ˈpɛnətɹeɪt/
Where it comes from
From Latin penētrātus, perfect passive participle of penētrō (“to put, set, or place within, enter, pierce, penetrate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from penes (“within, with”) by analogy to intrō (“to go in, enter”). Compare French pénétrer.
verb penetrates · penetrating · penetrated
-
To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to pierce.
Light penetrates darkness.
Similar: ransack
- 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
- To infiltrate an enemy to gather intelligence.
- To insert the penis into an orifice, such as a vagina, mouth, or anus. a male elephant comes up and penetrates the female
- To move a piece past the defending pieces of one's opponent.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: fathom, click, sink in, get across, come home, bottom, get through, dawn, penetration, pierce, puncture, hack, crack, breach, poke, break
Translations
Every language
verb enter into
| Español | penetrar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 침투하다 chimtu-hada |
| 日本語 | 貫通する kantsū suru, 突き通る tsukitōru |
| 中文 | 深入 shēnrù, 穿透 chuāntòu, 穿入 chuānrù, 貫穿 /贯穿 guànchuān |
| Português | penetrar |
| Français | pénétrer |
| Deutsch | eindringen, penetrieren |
| Italiano | penetrare |
| Ελληνικά | διεισδύω dieisdýo |
| Română | penetra, pătrunde |
| Русский | проника́ть pronikátʹ, прони́кнуть proníknutʹ |
| العربية | اِخْتَرَقَ iḵtaraqa |
Talk about this word "penetrate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/penetrate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. penetrate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/penetrate "penetrate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/penetrate.Cite this
@misc{penetrate_2026,
title = {penetrate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/penetrate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
