penetrate[verb]Synonyms:- pierce, bore, enter, go through, prick, stab
- grasp, comprehend, decipher, fathom, figure out
(informal), get to the bottom of, suss (out)
(slang), work out
Related Words: encroach,
invade,
trespass,
bore,
perforate,
prick,
puncture,
jab,
knife,
stab,
drill,
drive,
insert,
insinuate,
interpolate,
introduce [TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲
pen‧e‧trate /ˈpenətreɪt, ˈpenɪtreɪt/
verb[
Date: 1500-1600;
Language: Latin;
Origin: past participle of penetrare]
1. GO THROUGH [intransitive and transitive] to enter something and pass or spread through it, especially when this is difficult ⇒
pierce:
bullets that penetrate thick armour plating Sunlight barely penetrated the dirty windows.penetrate into Explorers penetrated deep into unknown regions.2. BUSINESS [transitive] to start to sell things to an area or country, or to have an influence there:
Few U.S. companies have successfully penetrated the Japanese electronics market.3. ORGANIZATION [transitive] to succeed in becoming accepted into a group or an organization, sometimes in order to find out their secrets:
KGB agents had penetrated most of their intelligence services.4. UNDERSTAND formal a) [transitive] to succeed in understanding something:
Science has penetrated the mysteries of nature. b) [intransitive and transitive] to be understood, with difficulty:
What could I say that would penetrate his thick skull?5. SEX [transitive] if a man penetrates someone, he puts his
penis into a woman’s
vagina or into someone’s
anus when having sex
6. SEE THROUGH [transitive] to see into or through something when this is difficult:
My eyes couldn’t penetrate the gloom. [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲