v. 25B6; verb
the knife penetrated his lungs : PIERCE, puncture, make a hole in, perforate, stab, prick, gore, spike.
they penetrated the enemy territory : INFILTRATE, slip into, sneak into, insinuate oneself into.
fear penetrated her bones : PERMEATE, pervade, fill, spread throughout, suffuse, seep through.
he seemed to have penetrated the mysteries of nature : UNDERSTAND, comprehend, apprehend, fathom, grasp, perceive, discern, get to the bottom of, solve, resolve, make sense of, interpret, puzzle out, work out, unravel, decipher, make head or tail of; informal crack, get, figure out; Brit. informal suss out.
his words finally penetrated : REGISTER, sink in, be understood, be comprehended, become clear, fall into place; informal click.