penetrate
verb
Simple meaning
Make one's way deeper into or through.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pehnuhtraytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɛnətɹeɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Make one's way deeper into or through
“The hikers did not manage to penetrate the dense forest.”
Pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance
Enter a group or organization in order to spy on the members
To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to pierce.
Become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
To affect profoundly through the senses or feelings; to move deeply.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Make one's way deeper into or through
Used this way, penetrate is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The hikers did not manage to penetrate the dense forest.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use penetrate
- “The hikers did not manage to penetrate the dense forest.”verb
- “Did the molester penetrate the child?”verb
- “The bullet penetrated her chest.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Injury incurred when an object (as a knife or bullet or shrapnel) penetrates into the body.
Injury incurred when an object (as a knife or bullet or shrapnel) penetrates into the body.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
An attack that penetrates into enemy territory.
A bomb with about 30% explosive and a casing designed to penetrate hardened targets before the explosive detonates.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.