1
penetrating noun
修饰名词，表示‘敏锐的’‘透彻的’
She gave him a penetrating look.
她敏锐地看了他一眼。
能穿透的；刺穿的
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
能穿透的；刺穿的
Able to pierce or penetrate.
She gave him a penetrating look.
她敏锐地看了他一眼。
能够刺穿或穿透的。
Able to pierce or penetrate
深入观察的；锐利的。
Looking deeply into; piercing
显示出敏锐或深刻理解的。
Demonstrating acute or keen understanding
Her penetrating gaze made me feel like she could see right through my thoughts.
她敏锐的目光让我觉得她仿佛能看穿我的想法。
The journalist asked a series of penetrating questions that revealed the truth.
记者提出了一系列尖锐的问题，揭示了真相。
He gave a penetrating analysis of the economic crisis.
他对经济危机进行了透彻的分析。
修饰名词，表示‘敏锐的’‘透彻的’
She gave him a penetrating look.
她敏锐地看了他一眼。
表示在某方面敏锐或深刻
His analysis was penetrating in its insights.
他的分析见解深刻透彻。
宾语后接形容词，表示觉得某人/某物敏锐
I found her questions very penetrating.
我觉得她的问题非常尖锐。
Not this
He has a penetrate mind.
Use this
He has a penetrating mind.
动词penetrate不能直接作定语，应用形容词penetrating修饰名词。
Not this
She gave a penetratingly look.
Use this
She gave a penetrating look.
副词penetratingly不能修饰名词，应用形容词penetrating作定语。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
犀利的目光
She fixed him with a penetrating gaze that made him look away.
她用犀利的目光盯着他，让他移开了视线。
透彻的分析
The report offers a penetrating analysis of the healthcare system.
该报告对医疗体系进行了透彻的分析。
尖锐的问题
The journalist asked a penetrating question about the company's finances.
记者问了一个关于公司财务的尖锐问题。
尖锐的嗓音
Her penetrating voice could be heard above the noise of the crowd.
她尖锐的嗓音在人群的嘈杂声中都能听到。
刺骨的寒冷
The penetrating cold of the winter morning forced us to stay indoors.
冬日早晨刺骨的寒冷迫使我们待在室内。
Use penetrating naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想：一支笔(pen)尖能刺穿纸，-ing表示“正在穿透的”，由此记住“锐利的、敏锐的”。
语域：neutral 常见场景：描述尖锐物体或声音、评论分析或目光 penetrating 可表示实际穿透，也常形容目光、声音或思维敏锐；多用于书面语和正式场合，口语中较少单独使用。具体含义需根据语境判断。
Words ending in -ing share the same suffix sound /ɪŋ/ but have different stressed vowels, so they do not rhyme with penetrating. The word 'pen' shares the initial 'pen' spelling and sound /pɛn/ but does not rhyme due to different syllable structure.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.