penetration
noun
Simple meaning
The ability to make way into or through something.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pehnuhtrayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
pɛnətˈɹeɪʃən
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.
noun
The ability to make way into or through something
“The greater penetration of the new projectiles will result in greater injuries.”
The act of entering into or through something
The act of progressing or moving forward through or into something.
The act of penetrating a given situation with the mind or faculties; perception, discernment.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The ability to make way into or through something
Used this way, penetration 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 greater penetration of the new projectiles will result in greater injuries.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “penetration of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: penetration of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use penetration
- “The greater penetration of the new projectiles will result in greater injuries.”noun
Share your sentence
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.
A bomb with about 30% explosive and a casing designed to penetrate hardened targets before the explosive detonates.
The extent to which a product is recognized and bought by customers in a particular market.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “penetration” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary from meanings, examples and other prompts.
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.