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
Martha Raddatz, The Atlantic, 25 May 2026
Another tell-tale sign of hard soil is having difficulty penetrating it with hand tools and small equipment.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 23 May 2026
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
Techniques that Armonda helped pioneer in Iraq eventually became the standard for soldiers and civilians around the world with penetrating brain injuries.
—Martha Raddatz, The Atlantic, 25 May 2026
Another tell-tale sign of hard soil is having difficulty penetrating it with hand tools and small equipment.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 23 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for penetrating
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penetrating
Adjective
-
The Chill Factor Perhaps the most biting statistic of the season so far is the temperature.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Morbidly Jewish finds Raanan at his most biting, acerbic, angry, Jewish, and, as always…loud.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
11 Dec. 2025
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Plans include accessing driver's license data from a private entity known as Nlets that helps law enforcement agencies share information across states.—
Jude Joffe-Block,
NPR,
10 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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The ruling adds to a string of legal setbacks for Musk in his increasingly bitter feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
15 June 2026
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Ballot returns released Friday put an end to a bitter, expensive race defined by issues of public safety and homelessness.—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
15 June 2026
Verb
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In practice, that means there’s no overarching commitment to making the words sing in a particular, shared, and piercing key.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
12 June 2026
-
Telefone, the piercing 2016 breakout debut from Noname, turns ten this year, and the Chicago rapper is celebrating it with a late-summer anniversary trek.—
Alex Suskind,
Pitchfork,
11 June 2026
Adjective
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The aircraft was unable to gain altitude after taking off and made a sharp left turn before crashing, according to Butler Memorial Airport acting manager Dennis Jacobs.—
Mirna Alsharif,
NBC news,
14 June 2026
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The exposure is sharpest for lenders that rely on machine learning, because of how those systems behave over time.—
Dara-Abasi Ita,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
Verb
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The Spurs outlasted New York 115-111 in Game 3, trimming the Knicks’ series lead to 2-1 entering Wednesday’s Game 4.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
11 June 2026
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The Rockies, 25-42 entering Wednesday night’s game, are headed toward their eighth consecutive losing season.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
11 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Penetrating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penetrating. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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