[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

penetrate \pen"etrate\, v. i.
   to pass; to make way; to pierce. also used figuratively.
   1913 webster

         preparing to penetrate to the north and west. --j. r.
                                                  green.
   1913 webster

         born where heaven's influence scarce can penetrate.
                                                  --pope.
   1913 webster

         the sweet of life that penetrates so near. --daniel.
   1913 webster

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

penetrate \pen"etrate\, v. t. imp.  p. p. penetrated; p.
   pr.  vb. n. penetrating. l. penetratus, p. p. of
   penetrare to penetrate; akin to penitus inward, inwardly, and
   perh. to pens with, in the power of, penus store of food,
   innermost part of a temple.
   1. to enter into; to make way into the interior of; to effect
      an entrance into; to pierce; as, light penetrates
      darkness.
      1913 webster

   2. 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. --shak.
      1913 webster

            the translator of homer should penetrate himself
            with a sense of the plainness and directness of
            homer's style.                        --m. arnold.
      1913 webster

   3. 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.
      1913 webster

            things which here were too subtile for us to
            penetrate.                            --ray.
      1913 webster
see also:
penetrated penetrating 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

penetrate
     v 1: pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance; "the
          bullet penetrated her chest" syn: perforate
     2: come to understand syn: fathom, bottom
     3: become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions; "it
        dawned on him that she had betrayed him"; "she was
        penetrated with sorrow" syn: click, get through, dawn,
         come home, get across, sink in, fall into place
     4: enter a group or organization in order to spy on the
        members; "the student organization was infiltrated by a
        traitor" syn: infiltrate
     5: make one's way deeper into ar through; "the hikers did not
        manage to penetrate the dense forest"
     6: insert the penis into the vagina or anus of; "did the
        molester penetrate the child?"
     7: spread or diffuse through; "an atmosphere of distrust has
        permeated this administration"; "music penetrated the
        entire building" syn: permeate, pervade, interpenetrate,
         diffuse, imbue
see also:
perforate fathom bottom click get through dawn 
come home get across sink in fall into place infiltrate 
permeate pervade interpenetrate diffuse imbue 

[4] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

189 moby thesaurus words for "penetrate":
   affect, auger, be glimpsed, be hep to, be on to, be realized,
   be remembered, be wise to, benumb, bespread, besprinkle, bite,
   bore, breathe, brew, broach, catch on to, charge, chill, color,
   come across, come alive, come home to, come in, come through,
   comprehend, countersink, crawl with, creep with, cut, dawn on,
   decoct, descry, diffuse, dig, discern, discover, dredge, drill,
   drive, dye, ease in, empierce, encroach, enter, entincture,
   extend throughout, fathom, figure out, fill, find out, fix, flavor,
   freeze, frost, frostbite, gain entree, get, get across, get at,
   get into, get over, get through, get to, go deep, go in, go into,
   go through, go through one, gore, gouge, gouge out, grasp, hit,
   hole, honeycomb, imbrue, imbue, impale, impregnate, infiltrate,
   infuse, ingress, inject, inoculate, insert, insinuate, instill,
   interject, interpenetrate, interpolate, introduce, intromit,
   invade, jab, knife, lance, leave no void, leaven, make an entrance,
   make an impression, make out, make way into, melt, melt the heart,
   move, needle, never be forgotten, nip, numb, obsess, occupy,
   overrun, overspread, overswarm, pass through, perceive, percolate,
   perforate, perfuse, permeate, pervade, pierce, pink, plumb, pop in,
   prick, probe, punch, puncture, put in, rankle, reach, ream,
   ream out, refrigerate, register, riddle, run through, saturate,
   season, see, see daylight, see into, see the light, see through,
   seep in, sense, set in, sink in, skewer, slip in, smart, soak in,
   soften, spear, spike, spit, stab, steep, stick, stick in, sting,
   stir, strike, suffuse, swarm with, tap, teem with, temper,
   throw in, tincture, tinge, touch, touch a chord, transfix,
   transfuse, transpierce, trepan, trephine, trespass, tuck in,
   tumble to, uncover, understand, unravel, whip in, wise up to,
   work out

Penetrate >> P Words
Penetrate, definition of term: Penetrate
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