- penetrative
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adjective
Date: 15th century
1. tending to penetrate ; piercing
2. acute <penetrative observations> 3. impressive <a penetrative speaker>
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
penetrative
Look at other dictionaries:
Penetrative — Pen e*tra*tive, a. [Cf. F. p[ e]n[ e]tratif.] 1. Tending to penetrate; of a penetrating quality; piercing; as, the penetrative sun. [1913 Webster] His look became keen and penetrative. Hawthorne. [1913 Webster] 2. Having the power to affect or… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
penetrative — index trenchant Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
penetrative — pen|e|tra|tive [ˈpenıtrətıv US treıtıv] adj 1.) penetrative sex sex in which a man puts his ↑penis into a woman s ↑vagina or into someone s ↑anus 2.) able to get into or through something easily ▪ penetrative missiles 3.) showing an ability to… … Dictionary of contemporary English
penetrative — UK [ˈpenətrətɪv] / US adjective formal 1) penetrative sex involves a man putting his penis into someone s body during sex 2) able to get into or pass through something a penetrative attack 3) able to quickly understand things or their importance… … English dictionary
penetrative — 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 … Useful english dictionary
penetrative — adj. Penetrative is used with these nouns: ↑sex … Collocations dictionary
penetrative — [[t]pe̱nɪtrətɪv, AM treɪt [/t]] ADJ: ADJ n If a man has penetrative sex with someone, he inserts his penis into his partner s vagina or anus … English dictionary
penetrative — adjective 1 able to get into or through something easily 2 showing an ability to understand things quickly and completely: penetrative observations … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
penetrative — penetrate ► VERB 1) force a way into or through. 2) infiltrate (an enemy organization or a competitor s market). 3) understand or gain insight into. 4) (penetrating) (of a sound) clearly heard through or above other sounds. 5) (of a man) insert… … English terms dictionary
penetrative — penetratively, adv. penetrativeness, penetrativity /pen i treuh tiv i tee/, n. /pen i tray tiv/, adj. 1. tending to penetrate; piercing. 2. acute; keen. [1375 1425; late ME < ML penetrativus. See PENETRATE, IVE] * * * … Universalium
