Penetrating

4 definitions found

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

  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.
        [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]

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

  Penetrating \Pen"e*tra`ting\, a.
     1. Having the power of entering, piercing, or pervading;
        sharp; subtile; penetrative; as, a penetrating odor.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Acute; discerning; sagacious; quick to discover; as, a
        penetrating mind.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  penetrating
       adj 1: having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine
              distinctions; "an acute observer of politics and
              politicians"; "incisive comments"; "icy knifelike
              reasoning"; "as sharp and incisive as the stroke of a
              fang"; "penetrating insight"; "frequent penetrative
              observations" [syn: {acute}, {discriminating}, {incisive},
               {keen}, {knifelike}, {penetrative}, {piercing}, {sharp}]
       2: tending to penetrate; having the power of entering or
          piercing; "a toxic penetrative spray applied to the
          surface"; "a cold penetrating wind"; "a penetrating odor"
          [syn: {penetrative}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  185 Moby Thesaurus words for "penetrating":
     Siberian, absorbing, acerb, acerbate, acerbic, acid, acidic,
     acidulent, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, acute, algid,
     apperceptive, appercipient, arctic, argute, asperous, astringent,
     astute, below zero, biting, bitter, bitterly cold, bleak, boreal,
     brisk, brumal, caustic, clear-cut, clever, cogent, cold,
     cold as charity, cold as death, cold as ice, cold as marble,
     corroding, corrosive, creaky, crisp, cutting, deafening, deep,
     deep-felt, deepgoing, discerning, discriminating, double-edged,
     driving, ear-piercing, ear-splitting, edged, effective, escharotic,
     farseeing, farsighted, fierce, forceful, forcible, foreseeing,
     foresighted, forethoughted, forethoughtful, freezing,
     freezing cold, frigid, gelid, glacial, gutsy, harsh, heartfelt,
     hibernal, hiemal, homefelt, howling, hyperborean, ice-cold,
     ice-encrusted, icelike, icy, imperative, impressive, incisive,
     inclement, indelible, ingoing, intelligent, intense, irritating,
     keen, keening, longheaded, longsighted, loud, mordacious, mordant,
     nervous, nipping, nippy, nose-piercing, nose-tickling, numbing,
     perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, perspicuous, pervading,
     pervasive, piercing, pinching, piping, piquant, poignant, powerful,
     profound, provident, punchy, pungent, quick, quick-witted, raw,
     reedy, reeking, rigorous, rough, sagacious, scathing, scorching,
     screaky, screeching, screechy, searching, sensational, sensitive,
     severe, sharp, sharp-sighted, sharp-witted, shrieking, shrieky,
     shrill, sinewed, sinewy, slashing, sleety, slushy, smart, snappy,
     sour, squeaking, squeaky, stabbing, stinging, stone-cold, strident,
     striking, stringent, strong, strong-scented, strong-smelling,
     subzero, suffocating, supercooled, tart, telling, thin, thundering,
     trenchant, ululant, understanding, vehement, vigorous, violent,
     virulent, vital, vitriolic, wailing, whining, whistling,
     winterbound, winterlike, wintery, wintry, withering