penetrative

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penetrative

Where it comes from

From Middle English penetratyve, penetratif, from Medieval Latin penetrativus, from (the participle stem of) Latin penetrāre (“to penetrate”).

adjective more penetrative · most penetrative

That can or does physically penetrate something; piercing, penetrating. Would'ſt thou be window'd in great Rome, and ſee / Thy Maſter thus with pleacht Armes, bending downe / His corrigible necke, his face ſubdu'de / To penetratiue ſhame […]
Displaying insight or discrimination; acute; penetrating.
That can penetrate opposition defences.
Pertaining to sexual activity involving penetration by the penis (or similar object). I've been in a relationship for nearly a year and we have an amazing sex life as is, but we've never managed penetrative sex.

Opposite: unpenetrative

Thesaurus

adjective

Opposite: unpenetrative

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MLA

"penetrative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/penetrative. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

penetrative. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/penetrative

Chicago

"penetrative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/penetrative.

BibTeX

@misc{penetrative_2026,
  title = {penetrative},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/penetrative},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}