Hypertext Webster Gateway: "penetrate"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Penetrate \Pen"e*trate\, v. i.
To pass; to make way; to pierce. Also used figuratively.

Preparing to penetrate to the north and west. --J. R.
Green.

Born where Heaven's influence scarce can penetrate.
--Pope.

The sweet of life that penetrates so near. --Daniel.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Penetrate \Pen"e*trate\, 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.

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.

The translator of Homer should penetrate himself
with a sense of the plainness and directness of
Homer's style. --M. Arnold.

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.

Things which here were too subtile for us to
penetrate. --Ray.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

penetrate
v 1: pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance; "The
bullet penetrated her chest"
2: come to understand [syn: {fathom}, {bottom}]
3: become clear suddenly; "It dawned on him that she had
betrayed him" [syn: {click}, {get through}, {dawn}, {come
home}, {get across}, {sink in}, {fall into place}]


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