different between penetrate vs diffract

English

Etymology

From Latin pen?tr?tus, past participle of pen?tr? (“to put, set, or place within, enter, pierce, penetrate”), from penes (“within, with”) by analogy to intr? (“to go in, enter”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p?n?t?e?t/
• Hyphenation: pen?e?trate

Verb

penetrate (third-person singular simple present penetrates, present participle penetrating, simple past and past participle penetrated)

1. To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to pierce.
2. (figuratively) To achieve understanding of, despite some obstacle; to comprehend; to understand.

   • things which here were […] too subtile for us to penetrate

3. To affect profoundly through the senses or feelings; to move deeply.
   • 1867, Matthew Arnold, On the Study of Celtic Literature

     The translator of Homer should penetrate himself with a sense of the plainness and directness of Homer's style.
4. To infiltrate an enemy to gather intelligence.
5. To insert the penis into an opening, such as a vagina or anus.

6. (chess) To move a piece past the defending pieces of one's opponent.

Derived terms

• penetration
• penetrable

Translations

Further reading

• penetrate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• penetrate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• penetrate at OneLook Dictionary Search

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /penet?rate/

Verb

penetrate

1. present adverbial passive participle of penetri

Italian

Verb

penetrate

1. second-person plural present indicative of penetrare
2. second-person plural imperative of penetrare
3. feminine plural of penetrato

Latin

Verb

penetr?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of penetr?

English

Etymology

Latin diffractus (“past participle of diffringo (“to shatter, to break into pieces”)”)

Verb

diffract (third-person singular simple present diffracts, present participle diffracting, simple past and past participle diffracted)

1. (transitive) To cause diffraction
2. (intransitive) To undergo diffraction

Translations