penetrating
pen·e·trat·ing/ˈpɛnɪtɹeɪtɪŋ/adjective, verb
penetrating is spelled P-E-N-E-T-R-A-T-I-N-G: 11 letters and 4 syllables (pen·e·trat·ing). It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, penetrating means “Able to pierce or penetrate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in penetrating?
| Letters | 11: P-E-N-E-T-R-A-T-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: pen·e·trat·ing |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 18,811th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is penetrating?
Penetrating appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce penetrating?
- /ˈpɛnɪtɹeɪtɪŋ/
Penetrating has 4 syllables, split pen·e·trat·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-penetrating.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of penetrating
- more penetrating comparative
- most penetrating superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does penetrating mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Able to pierce or penetrate
The skunk produces a penetrating odor.
- 2
Looking deeply into; piercing
He had a very penetrating pair of brown eyes.
- 3
Demonstrating acute or keen understanding
His novel shows a penetrating insight into the criminal mind.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of penetrate
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Penetrating in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense able to pierce or penetrate:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pénétrant |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.