as in entered
to go or come in or into
a needle penetrated the heavy canvas only with great effort
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 penetrated
New groups have sprouted, and protests have penetrated formerly docile suburbs.
—
Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 10 Feb. 2026
Bane similarly penetrated the paint and scored a team-high 14 points before the break, ending with 20-plus points for the 26th time in a Magic uniform.
—Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2026
The only light was that which dimly penetrated an opaque skylight overhead.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Eliza and the doctors had no idea whether the knife that had penetrated his eye had damaged his brain.
—Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
Moreover, Appian and its peers have penetrated only about 10% of what could be a $90 billion market.
—Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2026
Within months, his name became synonymous with the corruption and criminality that Washington said had penetrated the Venezuelan state.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
No researcher had penetrated these depths or mapped the ice sheet’s underlying terrain in such vivid, thrilling detail.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 17 Jan. 2026
In rapid fire, five stabs penetrated Rivera’s chest, head, and shoulder.
—Mattha Busby, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2026
Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 10 Feb. 2026
Bane similarly penetrated the paint and scored a team-high 14 points before the break, ending with 20-plus points for the 26th time in a Magic uniform.
—Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2026
The only light was that which dimly penetrated an opaque skylight overhead.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Eliza and the doctors had no idea whether the knife that had penetrated his eye had damaged his brain.
—Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
Moreover, Appian and its peers have penetrated only about 10% of what could be a $90 billion market.
—Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2026
Within months, his name became synonymous with the corruption and criminality that Washington said had penetrated the Venezuelan state.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
No researcher had penetrated these depths or mapped the ice sheet’s underlying terrain in such vivid, thrilling detail.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 17 Jan. 2026
In rapid fire, five stabs penetrated Rivera’s chest, head, and shoulder.
—Mattha Busby, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penetrated
Verb
-
Familiar with the building thanks to her father’s role there, the young woman went up to the second floor and entered one of the rooms.—
Daria Tarasova-Markina,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Dodds and Mouat, who entered the field as favorites, shook hands with the Wrana siblings with one end still to play.—
JULIA FRANKEL,
Arkansas Online,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Williams introduces us to a woman who is pierced by the clarity of her vision.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Raha was one of them, killed by a bullet that pierced her lungs.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
This week, a 51-year-old woman was sentenced to federal prison for making far-out and ultimately weightless accusations – that her former spouse had illegally accessed her bank account as an astronaut aboard the International Space Station in the summer of 2019.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
-
The instrumental snippets are accessed — in old-fashioned CD-ROM hover-and-click style — by clicking on band posters or photographs pictured as being taped or otherwise affixed to a wall in a bedroom with a guitar, stacks of CDs and some dirty clothes.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Penetrated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penetrated. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
