from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
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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.
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The translator of Homer should penetrate himself
with a sense of the plainness and directness of
Homer's style. --M. Arnold.
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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.
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Things which here were too subtile for us to
penetrate. --Ray.
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