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Penetrate vs Espy - What's the difference?

penetrate | espy | Related terms |

Penetrate is a related term of espy.


As verbs the difference between penetrate and espy

is that penetrate is to enter into; to make way into the interior of; to pierce while espy is to catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes; to discover, as a distant object partly concealed, or not obvious to notice; to see at a glance; to discern unexpectedly; to spy; as, to espy land; to espy a man in a crowd.

penetrate

English

(Penetration)

Verb

(penetrat)
  • To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to pierce.
    • Light penetrates darkness.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1879, title=The Telephone, the Microphone and the Phonograph
    • , author=Th Du Moncel, page=166, publisher=Harper , passage=He takes the prepared charcoal used by artists, brings it to a white heat, and suddenly plunges it in a bath of mercury, of which the globules instantly penetrate the pores of charcoal, and may be said to metallize it.}}
  • (figuratively) To achieve understanding of, despite some obstacle; to comprehend; to understand.
    • I could not penetrate Burke's opaque rhetoric.
  • * Ray
    • things which here were too subtile for us to penetrate
  • To affect profoundly through the senses or feelings; to move deeply.
    • to penetrate one's heart with pity
  • * M. Arnold
    • The translator of Homer should penetrate himself with a sense of the plainness and directness of Homer's style.
    (Shakespeare)
  • To infiltrate an enemy to gather intelligence.
  • To insert the penis into an opening, such as a vagina or anus. (rfex)

    • Derived terms

    * penetration * penetrable

    External links

    * * * ----

    espy

    English

    Verb

  • To catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes; to discover, as a distant object partly concealed, or not obvious to notice; to see at a glance; to discern unexpectedly; to spy; as, to espy land; to espy a man in a crowd.
  • To inspect narrowly; to examine and keep watch upon; to watch; to observe.
  • * Jeremy Taylor
    • He sends angels to espy us in all our ways.
  • To look or search narrowly; to look about; to watch; to take notice; to spy.
  • * Bible, Jer. xlviii. 19
    • Stand by the way, and espy .

    Related terms

    * descry

    Anagrams

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