Link Centre Dictionary

penetrative

pe·net·ra·tive

uncommon

adjective

1.

having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions

  • “an acute observer of politics and politicians”
  • “incisive comments”
  • “icy knifelike reasoning”
  • “as sharp and incisive as the stroke of a fang”
  • “penetrating insight”
  • “frequent penetrative observations”
2.

tending to penetrate; having the power of entering or piercing

  • “a toxic penetrative spray applied to the surface”
  • “a cold penetrating wind”
  • “a penetrating odor”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From Middle English penetratyve, penetratif, from Medieval Latin penetrativus, from (the participle stem of) Latin penetrāre (“to penetrate”).

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.