penetrate

penetrate is a 9-letter English word with 11 senses as transitive verb, intransitive verb, and verb in the JumbleFix dictionary. One common meaning is: To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to effect an entrance into; to pierce; as, light penetrates darkness. Face value is 11 in Scrabble and 13 in Words With Friends. Use the entries below when you need a playable sense, a nearby word, or another arrangement of the same letters.

9 letters · Scrabble 11 · Words With Friends 13 · 11 senses

Definitions

1. transitive verb. To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to effect an entrance into; to pierce; as, light penetrates darkness.
2. transitive verb. 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.
3. transitive verb. 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.
4. intransitive verb. To pass; to make way; to pierce. Also used figuratively.
5. verb. become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions

   "It dawned on him that she had betrayed him"

   "she was penetrated with sorrow"

   Synonyms: click, dawn

6. verb. come to understand

   Synonyms: bottom, fathom

7. verb. pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance

   "The bullet penetrated her chest"

   Synonyms: perforate

8. verb. spread or diffuse through

   "An atmosphere of distrust has permeated this administration"

   "music penetrated the entire building"

   Synonyms: diffuse, imbue, interpenetrate, permeate, pervade, riddle

9. verb. insert the penis into the vagina or anus of

   "Did the molester penetrate the child?"

10. verb. make one's way deeper into or through

    "The hikers did not manage to penetrate the dense forest"

11. verb. enter a group or organization in order to spy on the members

    "The student organization was infiltrated by a traitor"

    Synonyms: infiltrate

Synonyms

click, dawn, bottom, fathom, perforate, diffuse, imbue, interpenetrate, permeate, pervade, riddle, infiltrate

Common word forms

penetrated, penetrates, penetrating

Words from these letters

If you are holding these tiles, the unscrambler for PENETRATE lists every valid word you can make from the same letters, including shorter plays.