Basic Details
Word: Penetration
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The act of going into or through something. It can also mean how far something, such as a product or idea, spreads into a place.
Synonyms: entry, piercing, infiltration
How to Spell Penetration
Syllables: pen - e - tra - tion
Tricky part: The second vowel is e: pen-e-tra-tion, not penitration. Penetrate drops its final e before ion.
Watch out for: penitration, penetrasion, penatration
Memory tip: The first two vowels are both e, like a pen pressed twice into paper: pen-e. Then trate turns into tration.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The thick walls prevented the penetration of sunlight into the cellar.
Example 2: Mobile phone penetration in rural India has grown fast.
Example 3: The armour was tested for bullet penetration.
Fun Fact
X-rays are useful in hospitals because of how they penetrate: they pass through soft tissue but are stopped more by bone, so bones show up clearly.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
pen_tr_tion
a) e, e
b) i, a
c) a, a
d) e, a
Show answer
d) e, a. Say pen-e-tra-tion: an e follows pen and an a follows tr.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The rtoinapeten of the drill into the rock took over an hour.
a) penetration
b) presentation
c) perforation
d) perpetration
Show answer
a) penetration. Presentation needs an s, perforation an f and perpetration a second p, so the jumble can only be penetration.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word penetration as used in the sentence:
The army's penetration into enemy territory surprised everyone.
a) surrender
b) entry
c) retreat
d) defeat
Show answer
b) entry. Getting into enemy territory is an entry; a retreat moves the other way.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Sunscreen works by blocking the penetration of ____ into the skin.
a) harmful sun rays
b) fresh air
c) loud sounds
d) drinking water
Show answer
a) harmful sun rays
2. Penetration is the noun formed from which verb?
a) pertain
b) perpetrate
c) penalise
d) penetrate
Show answer
d) penetrate
