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penetrating

/ˈpɛnɪtɹeɪtɪŋ/ adjective C1
  1. Able to pierce or penetrate · The skunk produces a penetrating odor.
  2. Looking deeply into; piercing · He had a very penetrating pair of brown eyes.
  3. Demonstrating acute or keen understanding · His novel shows a penetrating insight into the criminal mind.
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There were a number of letters, bills, and notebooks, which Holmes turned over and examined with quick, nervous fingers and darting, penetrating eyes.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes, p. 107 · C1
The youth looked at us with a very penetrating and, as it seemed to me, unfriendly gaze.
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, p. 64 · B2
He had a deep-set, penetrating eye, almost buried beneath the thick gray eyebrow, and a long (and still black) beard reaching down to his breast.
The Count of Monte Cristo, p. 139 · C1
Faria bent on him his penetrating eye.
The Count of Monte Cristo, p. 170 · C1

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Words, meanings, pronunciations and translations from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); how common each word is from wordfreq. Made into this dictionary by FluentPlex.