as in biting
causing intense discomfort to one's skin
an icy, penetrating rain that made you feel really miserable
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in accessing
to go or come in or into
a needle penetrated the heavy canvas only with great effort
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of penetrating
Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2023
Nachmanides takes a different approach and offers perhaps the most penetrating psychological insight.
—Rabbi Avi Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 26 Dec. 2022
Talia Gutierrez, Glamour, 30 Sep. 2025
Chemical sunscreens contain chemicals like avobenzone or octinoxate that absorb the sun's rays by penetrating your skin.
—Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penetrating
Adjective
Those pictures are much more penetrating then the pictures of walls with bullet holes.
—Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2023
Nachmanides takes a different approach and offers perhaps the most penetrating psychological insight.
—Rabbi Avi Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 26 Dec. 2022
Verb
Try Oribe’s Styling Butter Curl Enhancing Crème, made with olive and avocado oils to attain deeply penetrating hydration.
—Talia Gutierrez, Glamour, 30 Sep. 2025
Chemical sunscreens contain chemicals like avobenzone or octinoxate that absorb the sun's rays by penetrating your skin.
—Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penetrating
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penetrating
Adjective
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But usually the administration official doesn’t fight back in such a biting way.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Over nearly three decades, Baumbach has built a career chronicling families in crisis and artists at the crossroads, his films combining biting wit with an unflinching emotional honesty.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The bridge tilts over 500 times annually to accommodate Royal Navy vessels and private boats accessing the Newcastle City Marina.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Cuban emphasized repeatedly in further posts that the controversy isn’t about adults accessing erotica.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Free Press, which Paramount bought for about $150 million, paints itself as a voice of the center but draws its energy from the bitter US culture wars.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
13 Oct. 2025
-
There were glimmers of hope, even in bitter defeat, for the reigning AFC champions.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The album is a triumphant release that balances anger and grief and, at times, surprising joy, with Estrada’s bright, lilting soprano piercing through the veil of her pain.—
Cat Cardenas,
Rolling Stone,
13 Oct. 2025
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While the rest of his body was a meandering ghost, his eyes were molten rage-arrows piercing the other people onstage.—
Betty Gilpin,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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His positioning and reading of the game remain sharp, his footwork is clean, and his reactions are quick.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
From the 1960s through the 2000s, no one skewered a crowd with sharper affection.—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Those without internet access can listen to the call live by dialing (833) 470-1428 and then entering the passcode, 549176.—
Jon Walker,
Arkansas Online,
15 Oct. 2025
-
Aid workers added that rebuilding sanitation networks is also necessary but will be a challenge until the supplies entering Gaza necessary increase.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penetrating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penetrating. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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