as in to penetrate
to spread throughout
with tie-dyeing, the dye does not interpenetrate the entire fabric
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Recent Examples of interpenetrate
Those canyons provide thousands of patches of natural habitat that interpenetrate the edges of greater Los Angeles.
—
Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026
The works that were being presented onstage, both blackface and ballet, were addressing themes that interpenetrated everyday life.
—Chava Pearl Lansky, JSTOR Daily, 30 July 2025
The strong medicine of Zen and other mystical traditions can flip us into a state of experiencing our whole Self—a boundless, selfless Self that interpenetrates with all that is.
—Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Building and action interpenetrate in the courtyards, arcades, and stairways.
—Thomas Meaney, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
Water interpenetrates it, a gleaming, mercurial counter-spiral spooling into its open rockwork.
—Jennifer L. Roberts, The Atlantic, 9 Aug. 2023
Negative space and positive materiality interpenetrate in an extraordinary formal condensation of Cubist technique.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2022
With the degree that the two countries interpenetrate each other’s elite and intelligence establishments, think the Russian military couldn’t get a kill shot on President Volodymyr Zelensky?
—Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022
Traditionalist Catholic ideas and values now interpenetrate conservative American political thought and nearly every political institution of consequence.
—Peter Hammond Schwartz, The New Republic, 3 Feb. 2021
Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026
The works that were being presented onstage, both blackface and ballet, were addressing themes that interpenetrated everyday life.
—Chava Pearl Lansky, JSTOR Daily, 30 July 2025
The strong medicine of Zen and other mystical traditions can flip us into a state of experiencing our whole Self—a boundless, selfless Self that interpenetrates with all that is.
—Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Building and action interpenetrate in the courtyards, arcades, and stairways.
—Thomas Meaney, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
Water interpenetrates it, a gleaming, mercurial counter-spiral spooling into its open rockwork.
—Jennifer L. Roberts, The Atlantic, 9 Aug. 2023
Negative space and positive materiality interpenetrate in an extraordinary formal condensation of Cubist technique.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2022
With the degree that the two countries interpenetrate each other’s elite and intelligence establishments, think the Russian military couldn’t get a kill shot on President Volodymyr Zelensky?
—Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022
Traditionalist Catholic ideas and values now interpenetrate conservative American political thought and nearly every political institution of consequence.
—Peter Hammond Schwartz, The New Republic, 3 Feb. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for interpenetrate
Verb
-
The knife perforated the bone at the center of his chest, the sac that surrounds his heart, and penetrated the right ventricle of his heart.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 June 2026
-
If the plant was root bound in its pot, consider pulling it out of the ground, loosening up the roots so water can penetrate, and replanting it.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
As the first show without late drummer/lyricist Neil Peart since 1974, the kick-off was suffused with nearly overwhelming emotion, both onstage and off.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
10 June 2026
-
That essay, written in 1940 — the same year Native Son was published — is suffused with profound hopelessness for what was indeed to come.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
And while it’s tended to be soccer WAGs that have permeated pop culture, in recent years, partners and spouses of tennis stars and basketball players have garnered attention for their fashions.—
Vogue,
Vogue,
6 June 2026
-
Summer car maintenance tips for coastal areas In coastal areas, the salty water from the ocean permeates into the air, causing corrosion to vehicles’ metal components.—
Danny Smith,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
None of these readings are so emphatic as to render the others immaterial, and the pervading ambivalence paired with a steady but creeping pace could turn off viewers who just want a good mystery to solve.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
12 June 2026
-
Uncertainty pervaded the potential visit, according to the person, with the region on edge over the war in Iran.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Interpenetrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/interpenetrate. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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