penetrate vs understand

penetrate and understand both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
penetrate	No	No	Yes	No
understand	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, understand is a hypernym of penetrate; that is, understand is a word with a broader meaning than penetrate:

penetrate (verb)	understand (verb)
come to understand	know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions	perceive (an idea or situation) mentally
pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance	believe to be the case
insert the penis into the vagina or anus of	make sense of a language
spread or diffuse through	be understanding of
make one's way deeper into or through
enter a group or organization in order to spy on the members