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Glite Dictionary
💧 Able to soak in 🧠 Sharply perceptive 🧴 A soaking substance
penetrant

penetrant

7.9
That can pass into or soak into a material
  • adjective
  • /ˈpɛnɪtrənt/
translation icon : penetrante
  • For the test, he applied a penetrant dye that could soak through the material.

Examples

  • The penetrant fluid was able to seep into the smallest gaps of the structure.

  • It can be chain- or ceiling-mounted over automated magnetic-particle inspection systems or above penetrant-inspection booths so operators can inspect even the largest parts accurately.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The 400-W UV-400 flood lamp has been designed for fluorescent-penetrant and magnetic-particle inspection, parts-degreasing inspection, and wash-station inspection.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The chemist used a penetrant solution to test the metal for hidden cracks.

Synonyms

permeating
vspenetrant
5.8

Spreads through a place or thing and fills every part

can pass into or soak through a material without reaching every part

Antonyms

impermeable
4 6.6

Not allowing water or air to pass through

How Penetrant

porous
23 4.6
penetrant
7.9
resistant
8 3.7
impermeable
4 6.6

Surface Forms

penetrant positive

Morphology

penetrant = penetrate (transparent) = penetrate + ant

Clear derivation from the verb 'penetrate' with the adjectival suffix '-ant' indicating ability to pass through or soak into.

Etymology

Penetrant comes from the Latin penetrare, meaning 'to go into'. Like the word penetrate, a penetrant is something that 'goes into' a surface, so it passes through or soaks into materials.