Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
penetrator

penetrator

4 8.1
A person or thing that forces its way into a place, often past barriers
  • noun
  • /ˈpɛnɪˌtreɪtər/
: penetrador
  • In the test, the penetrator successfully broke through the dense material without any issues.
  • earth penetrator

I told you I'm three things, baby, A provider, a protector and a penetrator.

Examples

  • By impaling the upper soil layers, the penetrator should be able to analyze the soil under the surface.

    Academic text (1994)

  • In addition, as the United States continues to fund studies for new tactical weapons designs such as the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, it further erodes the confidence-building effect of the negative security assurances.

    Academic text (2003)

  • It's a massive ordnance penetrator, not an air burst.

    Blog text (11)

  • Not so sure, since at those impact speeds virtually any penetrator material would lose structural integrity.

    Blog text (11)

  • Engineers buried the warhead 52 meters under hard, compressed rocky soil—much deeper than could be reached by an earth penetrator.

    Academic text (2003)

  • The engineer developed a new type of penetrator that could easily access deep geological layers.

  • The military designed a penetrator missile to breach fortified enemy defenses.

Synonyms

infiltrator
vspenetrator
11 8.2

A person who secretly enters a place to get secret information or cause harm

enters by force overcoming resistance rather than by secret or covert means
breacher
vspenetrator
  • Jargon
2 8.5

A person or tool that makes an opening in barriers during a raid

enters by forcing a way through obstacles in many contexts
penetrant
vspenetrator
  • Specialized
1 8.9

A liquid used to soak into materials to find cracks or free stuck parts

is a person or tool that forces a way through, not a soaking substance
forcer
vspenetrator
1 7.0

A tool that moves stuck things by pushing or pulling

makes a way into or through things by overcoming resistance rather than just moving them

Antonyms

obstacle
298 3.4

A thing or problem that makes it hard to reach a goal

barrier
172 2.8

A thing that blocks movement or keeps places apart

How Penetrative

borer
  • Specialized
1 7.7
drill
124 2.3
penetrator
4 8.1
battering ram
13 6.0
probe
  • Specialized
211 4.9

Surface Forms

penetrator singular
penetrators plural

Morphology

penetrator = penetrate (transparent) = penetrate + or

The relation is a straightforward agent noun formation: the productive suffix '-or' attaches to the verb 'penetrate' to mean 'one that penetrates'.

Etymology

The word penetrator comes from the verb penetrate, from an old Latin word meaning 'to go into' or 'enter', and the ending -or means 'one who'. So a penetrator is someone or something that 'goes into' or forces its way through, which explains the modern meaning.