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
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Foxtails are considered dangerous to pets because they are barbed and can penetrate a dog’s skin, ears, nose, eyes and paws and do not fall out on their own.—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
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Pritzker said the speed with which AI is penetrating all forms of life is concerning.—
Chris Tye,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Lawrence’s vision of an arc of American history suffused with violence and injustice is obviously not one to which the current US administration would be at all sympathetic.—
Michael Lobel,
Artforum,
1 Apr. 2026
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Well, that and quantum teleportation, which is the reason that quantum entanglement suffuses this entire field to this day.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Many of the Gen Z terms, language enthusiasts say, once permeated Black subcultures, including early hip-hop music and underground drag culture, and were not fully accepted or respected by the mainstream.—
Moriah Humiston,
NBC news,
3 Apr. 2026
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Sharply rising oil prices and sudden shortages of critical materials such as fertilizer can quickly permeate an economy and cause all kinds of goods and services to increase in price while sapping precious household income.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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And that's a theme that pervades this entire case.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
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That pervades everything and that’s still there.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Interpenetrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/interpenetrate. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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