as in to penetrate
to spread throughout
with tie-dyeing, the dye does not interpenetrate the entire fabric
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of interpenetrate
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
Spaces and forms interpenetrated. Sculptural concrete projections that housed the chambers and the mayor’s office protruded from a modular facade of offices.
—Joseph Giovannini, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2020
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
Spaces and forms interpenetrated. Sculptural concrete projections that housed the chambers and the mayor’s office protruded from a modular facade of offices.
—Joseph Giovannini, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for interpenetrate
Verb
-
If readings reach dangerous levels, astronauts can construct a makeshift radiation shield inside Orion, fortifying themselves between the spacecraft's heatshield and water storage canisters, both of which are better at absorbing penetrating radiation than other onboard materials.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Salicylic acid penetrates deep into the pores to dissolve away acne-causing debris, while coddling the skin barrier with a cocktail of ceramides and niacinamide.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
His narration is a constant pleasure — mournful, wry, and suffused with a world-weary poetry.—
Leila Latif,
IndieWire,
31 Aug. 2025
-
Does that ideal suffuse your work?—
Sean Woods,
Rolling Stone,
5 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The parents of an older girl named Sarah Summers—the very name still carries a shiver of excitement—gave me her old clothes from time to time, in washed, folded stacks that were permeated with a middle-class laundry fragrance, the smell of another world, better than my own.—
Rachel Kushner,
New Yorker,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Songs from The Avett Brothers’ catalog permeate the nearly 90-minute one-act show, which has a run-time decidedly on the short end for productions of its ilk.—
Adam Bell,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Kirk's death also comes at a time when free speech issues are pervading college campuses around the country and prompting fierce debate among school leaders about how best to respond.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
-
There’s a clunkiness that pervades the entire enterprise.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Interpenetrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/interpenetrate. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share