word-vault
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A lightweight JavaScript package for English word definitions and collections.
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{
"term": "penetrate",
"partOfSpeech": "verb",
"verbForms": {
"presentSimple": {
"iYouWeThey": "penetrate",
"heSheIt": "penetrates"
},
"pastSimple": "penetrated",
"pastParticiple": "penetrated",
"ingForm": "penetrating"
},
"definitions": [
{
"senseNumber": 1,
"definition": "to go into or through something",
"sensetop": "penetrate somethingpenetrate into/through/to something",
"labels": "(figurative)",
"examples": [
{
"text": "The knife had penetrated his chest.",
"contextForm": "penetrate something"
},
{
"text": "The sun's radiation penetrates the skin."
},
{
"text": "The cold seemed to penetrate his bones."
},
{
"text": "The war penetrates every area of the nation's life."
},
{
"text": "These fine particles penetrate deep into the lungs.",
"contextForm": "penetrate into/through/to something"
},
{
"text": "narrow alleys where the sun never penetrates"
},
{
"text": "It is not yet known how deeply the radiation has penetrated into the soil."
},
{
"text": "The dust had penetrated to all corners of the room."
},
{
"text": "The light could not penetrate through the thick curtains."
},
{
"text": "caves penetrating deep into the hills"
}
],
"collocations": {
"adverb": ["deep", "deeply", "far"],
"verb + penetrate": ["be able to", "can", "be difficult to"],
"preposition": ["into", "through", "to"]
}
},
{
"senseNumber": 2,
"definition": "to succeed in entering or joining an organization, a group, etc. especially when this is difficult to do",
"sensetop": "penetrate somethingpenetrate into something",
"examples": [
{
"text": "They had penetrated airport security.",
"contextForm": "penetrate something"
},
{
"text": "The party has been penetrated by extremists."
},
{
"text": "This year the company has been trying to penetrate new markets *(= to start selling their products there)*."
},
{
"text": "These so-called secret societies were easily penetrated by intelligence agents."
},
{
"text": "The troops had penetrated deep into enemy lines.",
"contextForm": "penetrate into something"
}
],
"collocations": {
"adverb": ["deep", "deeply", "far"],
"verb + penetrate": ["be able to", "can", "be difficult to"],
"preposition": ["into", "through", "to"]
}
},
{
"senseNumber": 3,
"definition": "to see or show a way into or through something",
"sensetop": "penetrate something",
"examples": [
{
"text": "Our eyes could not penetrate the darkness."
},
{
"text": "The flashlights barely penetrated the gloom."
},
{
"text": "The sunlight barely penetrated the inner room."
}
],
"collocations": {
"adverb": ["deep", "deeply", "far"],
"verb + penetrate": ["be able to", "can", "be difficult to"],
"preposition": ["into", "through", "to"]
}
},
{
"senseNumber": 4,
"definition": "to understand or discover something that is difficult to understand or is hidden",
"sensetop": "penetrate something",
"examples": [
{
"text": "Science can penetrate many of nature's mysteries."
},
{
"text": "a style that is difficult to penetrate"
},
{
"text": "No one could penetrate the meaning of the inscription."
}
],
"collocations": {
"adverb": ["deep", "deeply", "far"],
"verb + penetrate": ["be able to", "can", "be difficult to"],
"preposition": ["into", "through", "to"]
}
},
{
"senseNumber": 5,
"definition": "to be understood or realized by somebody",
"sensetop": "penetrate something",
"examples": [
{
"text": "I was at the door before his words penetrated."
},
{
"text": "None of my advice seems to have penetrated his thick skull *(= he has not listened to any of it)*.",
"contextForm": "penetrate something"
},
{
"text": "The news slowly penetrated his consciousness."
}
],
"collocations": {
"adverb": ["deep", "deeply", "far"],
"verb + penetrate": ["be able to", "can", "be difficult to"],
"preposition": ["into", "through", "to"]
}
},
{
"senseNumber": 6,
"definition": "to put the penis into the vagina or anus of a sexual partner",
"sensetop": "penetrate somebody/something",
"examples": []
}
],
"pronunciations": {
"uk": [
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪt/",
"audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrate__gb_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪts/",
"audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrates__gb_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪtɪd/",
"audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrated__gb_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪtɪŋ/",
"audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrating__gb_1.mp3"
}
],
"us": [
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪt/",
"audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrate__us_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪts/",
"audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrates__us_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪtɪd/",
"audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrated__us_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪtɪŋ/",
"audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrating__us_1.mp3"
}
]
},
"wordOrigin": "mid 16th cent.: from Latin penetrat- ‘placed or gone into’, from the verb penetrare; related to penitus ‘inner’."
}