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

penetrant

8.9
A liquid used to soak into materials to find cracks or free stuck parts
  • noun
  • /ˈpɛnɪtrənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : penetrante
  • To fix the stuck parts, pour a penetrant into the joints and allow it to soak for several minutes.

You know, we got a bunch of cans of this stuff in there called Knocker Loose, Liquid Wrench, Super Penetrant.

Examples

  • Using a penetrant helps ensure that any defects in the material can be easily revealed.

  • If his penetrant member no longer functions as a passkey to the world of knowledge.

    Academic text (1994)

  • The technician applied a penetrant to the metal surface to identify any hidden cracks.

Synonyms

saturant
vspenetrant
  • Specialized
9.9

A liquid or chemical used to soak into a material to make it stronger and water resistant

enters or soaks to reveal defects or help other chemicals penetrate

How Penetrating

solvent
  • Specialized
33 4.9
wetting agent
  • Specialized
5.5
penetrant
  • Specialized
8.9
coating
35 3.4

Surface Forms

penetrant singular
penetrants plural

Morphology

penetrant = penetrate (semi-transparent) = penetr + ant

The word is built from 'penetrate' plus '-ant', but the sense is specialized to a technical substance rather than a fully predictable general meaning.

Etymology

The noun penetrant comes from the Latin penetrare, meaning 'to go into'. It names a substance or liquid that 'goes into' materials to find cracks, loosen parts, or help other chemicals pass through.