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Having the power of entering, piercing, or pervading; sharp; subtile; penetrative; as, a penetrating odor.

In a penetrating manner.

Having nice discernment; perceiving or using minute distinctions; penetrating; clever; shrewd; -- opposed to Ant: dull or Ant: stupid; as, an acute observer; acute remarks, or reasoning.

Rays of relatively low penetrating power emitted by radium and other radioactive substances, and shown to consist of positively charged particles (perhaps particles of helium) having enormous velocities but small masses. They are slightly deflected by a strong magnetic or electric field.

Penetrating rays readily deflected by a magnetic or electric field, emitted by radioactive substances, as radium. They consist of negatively charged particles or electrons, apparently the same in kind as those of the cathode rays, but having much higher velocities (about 35,000 to 180,000 miles per second).…

blunt arrow for killing birds without piercing them. Hence: Anything which smites without penetrating. Shak.

A peculiar bitter orange-brown substance, with strong, penetrating odor, found in two sacs between the anus and external genitals of the beaver; castor; -- used in medicine as an antispasmodic, and by perfumers.

families Betulaceæ and Juglandaceæ. Partial chalazogamy is found in Ulmus, the tube here penetrating the nucleus midway between the chalaza and micropyle. --Chal`a*zo*gam"ic (#), a.

Able to perceive clearly; keen; acute; penetrating; discriminating; as, a clear intellect; a clear head. Mother of science! now I feel thy power Within me clear, not only to discern Things in their causes, but to trace the ways Of highest agents. Milton.

te of iron and soda; -- called also blue asbestus. A silicified form, in which the fibers penetrating quartz are changed to oxide of iron, is the yellow brown tiger-eye of the jewelers.

Of penetrating or far-reaching intellect; not superficial; thoroughly skilled; sagacious; cunning. Deep clerks she dumbs. Shak.

The act of exploring, penetrating, or ranging over for purposes of discovery, especially of geographical discovery; examination; as, the exploration of unknown countries; (Med.)

A narrow inlet of the sea, penetrating between high banks or rocks, as on the coasts of Norway and Alaska. [Written also fjord.]

piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch. Knight.

Very penetrating rays not appreciably deflected by a magnetic or electric field, emitted by radioactive substances. The prevailing view is that they are non-periodic ether pulses differing from Röntgen rays only in being more penetrating.

g a metamorphosis in water. The females have a proboscis armed with needlelike organs for penetrating the skin of animals. These are wanting in the males. In America they are generally called mosquitoes. See Mosquito.

ute European mite (Leptus autumnalis), of a bright crimson color, which is troublesome by penetrating the skin of man and domestic animals; -- called also harvest louse, and harvest bug. -- Harvest moon, the moon near the full at the time of harvest in England, or about the autumnal equinox, when, by reason of the sma…

Having the quality of incising, cutting, or penetrating, as with a sharp instrument; cutting; hence, sharp; acute; sarcastic; biting. "An incisive, high voice." G. Eliot. And her incisive smile accrediting That treason of false witness in my blush. Mrs. Browning.

To enter by penetrating the pores or interstices of a substance; to filter into or through something. The water infiltrates through the porous rock. Addison.

To penetrate each the other; to penetrate between bodies or their parts. Interpenetrating molding (Arch.), in late Gothic architecture, a decoration by means of moldings which seem to pass through solid uprights, transoms, or other members; often, two sets of architectural members penetrating one another, in appearance…