to penetrate into or run through (something), as a sharp, pointed dagger, object, or instrument does.
to make a hole or opening in.
to bore into or through; tunnel.
to perforate.
to make (a hole, opening, etc.) by or as by boring or perforating.
to make a way or path into or through: a road that pierces the dense jungle.
to penetrate with the eye or mind; see into or through: She couldn't pierce his thoughts.
to affect sharply with some sensation or emotion, as of cold, pain, or grief: The wind pierced her body. Her words pierced our hearts.
to sound sharply through (the air, stillness, etc.): A pistol shot pierced the night.
verb (used without object),pierced,pierc·ing.
to force or make a way into or through something; penetrate: to pierce to the heart.
Origin of pierce
1250–1300; Middle English percen<Old French perc(i)er<Vulgar Latin *pertūsiāre, verbal derivative of Latin pertūsus, past participle of pertundere to bore a hole through, perforate, equivalent to per-per- + tundere to strike, beat
SYNONYMS FOR pierce
1 enter, puncture.
8 touch, move, strike, thrill.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR pierce ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for pierce
1. Pierce,penetrate suggest the action of one object passing through another or making a way through and into another. The terms are used both concretely and figuratively. To pierce is to perforate quickly, as by stabbing; it suggests the use of a sharp, pointed instrument which is impelled by force: to pierce the flesh with a knife; a scream pierces one's ears.Penetrate suggests a slow or difficult movement: No ordinary bullet can penetrate an elephant's hide; to penetrate the depths of one's ignorance.