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"

Having the power of entering, piercing, or pervading; sharp; subtile; penetrative; as, a penetrating odor.

Acute; discerning; sagacious; quick to discover; as, a penetrating mind.

Piercing: sharp; discerning or knowing. Also, penetrative.

Piercing or entering: sharp: subtle: acute: discerning.

Sharp; subtile; acute; discerning.

of Penetrate

Sharp; piercing; quick to understand; acute.

After satisfying his curiosity he was in the act of giving his attention again to the flags, when he detected another of those penetrating, but stolen glances with which his companion so often read the countenance of his associates. – The Red Rover by James Fenimore Cooper

He himself was one of those timid souls of whom he spoke having from the beginning done all he could not only to bar Luther's articles from the deliberations but also to prevent any penetrating discussion of the Lord's Supper. – Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church by Friedrich Bente

He waved the servant aside when she told him he had gone, and insisted on penetrating into the presence of the young man's father. – The Princess Priscilla's Fortnight by Elizabeth von Arnim

It was to the full as penetrating as that of the strange girls on the steamer had been; but it did not hurt like theirs. – A Little Country Girl by Susan Coolidge

As he felt her pulse her sleeve fell back, and he saw the ominous little red scar, and then he understood it all, and fixed a penetrating glance on the face of her husband, who would not meet his eye. – Without a Home by E. P. Roe

He looked at her with grave penetrating eyes. – The Grain Of Dust A Novel by David Graham Phillips

A few minutes sufficed to find and fit the keys; and, penetrating at once to the cell of Ralph Colleton, he soon made the youth acquainted with as much of the circumstances of his escape as might be thought necessary for the satisfaction of his immediate curiosity. – Guy Rivers: A Tale of Georgia by William Gilmore Simms

Flinders called him " the penetrating Bass." – The Life of Captain Matthew Flinders by Ernest Scott

Her anxiety for the return of Paul Harley grew urgent- a positive need, as, meeting the gaze of the long, magnetic eyes, she felt again, like the touch of cold steel, all the penetrating force of this man's will. – Fire-Tongue by Sax Rohmer

The face was not bad, certainly not in detail, and even the penetrating eyes seemed at the moment capable of a humorous expression, but it was that of a man whom you would not like to have your enemy. – That Fortune by Charles Dudley Warner Last Updated: February 22, 2009

Then your look was not very penetrating. – Lily Pearl and The Mistress of Rosedale by Ida Glenwood

Then Victoria said, turning a penetrating eye on Lydia: " You heard from Harry of the Melroses' arrival?" – The Mating of Lydia by Mrs. Humphry Ward

Turning his head, he thought that he saw a ray of light penetrating the darkness of space. – The Crystal Stopper by Maurice LeBlanc

He had prominent grey eyes with which he was accustomed to stare fiercely when he desired to impress a suspected person with what some of the newspapers had referred to as " his penetrating glance." – The Hampstead Mystery by John R. Watson

I had to meet a pretty penetrating look. – No Hero by E.W. Hornung

He was a handsome- looking man, about thirty years of age, of the most penetrating eye and determined countenance that I ever saw. – Tales & Novels, Vol. IX [Contents: Harrington; Thoughts on Bores; Ormond] by Maria Edgeworth