penetrating

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Related to penetrating: penetrating wound, Penetrating keratoplasty

pen·e·trat·ing

(pĕn′ĭ-trā′tĭng)

adj.

1. Able or seeming to penetrate: The penetrating odor of garlic soon filled the entire apartment.

2. Keenly perceptive or understanding; acute: The lecture provided penetrating insight into foreign affairs.

pen′e·trat′ing·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

penetrating

(ˈpɛnɪˌtreɪtɪŋ)

adj

tending to or able to penetrate: a penetrating mind; a penetrating voice.

ˈpeneˌtratingly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pen•e•trat•ing

(ˈpɛn ɪˌtreɪ tɪŋ)

adj.

1. able or tending to penetrate; piercing; sharp.

2. acute; discerning: a penetrating remark.

[1590–1600]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.	1.	penetrating - 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" incisive, keen, penetrative, piercing, knifelike, discriminating, acute, sharp perceptive - having the ability to perceive or understand; keen in discernment; "a perceptive eye"; "a perceptive observation"
	2.	penetrating - 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" penetrative sharp - having or made by a thin edge or sharp point; suitable for cutting or piercing; "a sharp knife"; "a pencil with a sharp point"

penetrating

adjective

1. sharp, harsh, piercing, carrying, piping, loud, intrusive, strident, shrill, high-pitched, ear-splitting Her voice was nasal and penetrating.
sharp sweet, dull, mild, blunt

2. pungent, biting, strong, powerful, sharp, heady, pervasive, aromatic a most wonderful penetrating smell and taste

3. piercing, cutting, biting, sharp, freezing, fierce, stinging, frosty, bitterly cold, artic A raw, penetrating wind was blowing in off the plain

4. intelligent, quick, sharp, keen, critical, acute, profound, discriminating, shrewd, discerning, astute, perceptive, incisive, sharp-witted, perspicacious, sagacious a penetrating mind
intelligent stupid, dull, shallow, indifferent, apathetic, obtuse, uncomprehending

5. perceptive, searching, sharp, keen, alert, probing, discerning a penetrating stare
perceptive unperceptive

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

penetrating

adjective

Possessing or displaying perceptions of great accuracy and sensitivity:

acute, incisive, keen, perceptive, probing, sensitive, sharp, trenchant.

Translations

حادَّهخارِق، نافِذ

pronikavý

gennemborendegennemtrængende

durchdringend

διαπεραστικός

pénétrant

hávær, skarpurnístandi

içe işleyentiz

penetrating

[ˈpenɪtreɪtɪŋ] ADJ [eyes, sound] → penetrante; [mind] → perspicaz

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

penetrating

[ˈpɛnətreɪtɪŋ] adj

[gaze] → pénétrant(e); [mind] → pénétrant(e)

[sound] → perçant(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

penetrating

adj

(= perceptive) gaze → durchdringend; insight, person → scharfsinnig; question, analysis → treffend; interview → tief gehend; a penetrating mind → ein scharfer Verstand

(= piercing) cold → durchdringend; light → grell; pain → stechend

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

penetrating

[ˈpɛnɪˌtreɪtɪŋ] adj (look, sound) → penetrante; (question) → acuto/a; (person, mind) → perspicace

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

penetrate

(ˈpenitreit) verb

to move, go or make a way into, past, or through (something). The bullet penetrated his shoulder; Their minds could not penetrate the mystery.

ˈpenetrating adjective

1. (of a voice, sound etc) loud and clear; easily heard. a penetrating voice.

2. (of a glance, stare etc) hard and searching, as if trying, or able, to see into a person's mind. a penetrating glance.

ˈpenetratingly adverb

ˌpeneˈtration noun

penetrating

a. [as a pain] penetrante, agudo-a.

penetrating

adj penetrante

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

When invading hostile territory, the general principle is, that penetrating deeply brings cohesion; penetrating but a short way means dispersion.

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I believe in the existence of a mammal power fully organised, belonging to the branch of vertebrata, like the whales, the cachalots, or the dolphins, and furnished with a horn of defence of great penetrating power."

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On the other hand, a carcass washed by a flood into a shallow part of the Arctic Sea, would be preserved for an indefinite period, if it were soon afterwards covered with mud sufficiently thick to prevent the heat of the summer-water penetrating to it; and if, when the sea-bottom was upraised into land, the covering was sufficiently thick to prevent the heat of the summer air and sun thawing and corrupting it.

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The result of this wise persistence was that the General finally reached firmer soil and, after penetrating a dense forest, came to the Dominion of the Growleywogs.

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The question now was, whether Rosa, who had made the journey from the Hague to Loewestein, and who -- Cornelius did not understand how -- had succeeded even in penetrating into the prison, would also be fortunate enough in penetrating to the prisoner himself.

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This commissary was a man of very repulsive mien, with a pointed nose, with yellow and salient cheek bones, with eyes small but keen and penetrating, and an expression of countenance resembling at once the polecat and the fox.

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"Do you think so, sire?" said Mazarin, looking at the king with that penetrating eye which was accustomed to read to the bottom of hearts.

"I never denied that you had a penetrating eye, and that was why I thought you would not refuse my brother Charles a thing so simple and so easy to grant him as what I ask of you in his name, my lord cardinal, or rather in my own."

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"My prince," said Aramis, turning in the carriage towards his companion, "weak creature as I am, so unpretending in genius, so low in the scale of intelligent beings, it has never yet happened to me to converse with a man without penetrating his thoughts through that living mask which has been thrown over our mind, in order to retain its expression.

To a just Providence was necessary an instrument, at once penetrating, persevering, and convinced, to accomplish a great work.

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With its own penetrating vision the spirit seeks some one mortal worthy to hold him company, worthy of being exalted for a few hours into realms of the semi-celestials.

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Jump!" he shouted fiercely at the end, his will penetrating the low intelligence of the black with dynamic force that made him jump to the task of brushing the loathsome swarms of flies away.