saturate

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saturate

/ˈsatjʊɹeɪt/ England
/ˈsæt͡ʃəˌɹeɪt/ England
/ˈsæt͡ʃəˌɹeɪt/ Canada, US
/ˈsatjʊɹət/ England
/ˈsæt͡ʃəɹət/ England
/ˈsæt͡ʃəɹət/ Canada, US

Where it comes from

The adjective is first attested in the second part of the 15ᵗʰ century, in Middle English, the verb in 1538, the noun in 1921; inherited from Middle English saturat(e) (“satiated, satisfied”), borrowed from Latin saturātus, perfect passive participle of saturō (“to fill, satisfy, quench”) (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3)), from satur (“full”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).

verb saturates · saturating · saturated

transitive To cause to become completely permeated with, or soaked (especially with a liquid). Rain saturated their clothes.
Similar: drench, impregnate, soak
figuratively, transitive To fill thoroughly or to excess. Modern television is saturated with violence.
transitive To satisfy the affinity of; to cause a substance to become inert by chemical combination with all that it can hold. One can saturate phosphorus with chlorine.
transitive To render pure, or of a colour free from white light.

noun saturates

Something saturated, especially a saturated fat. Through formation of a double bond, stearic acid (18:0), a saturate, is converted to acid (18:1), a monounsaturate.

adjective more saturate · most saturate

Saturated, wet, soaked. The innocent are gay—the lark is gay, / That dries his feathers, saturate with dew, / Beneath the rosy cloud, while yet the beams / Of dayspring overshoot his humble nest.
broadly, poetic Dripping with, covered with, exuding (something) [with with]. There she lay, […] Wax-white, seraphic, saturate with the sun O' the morning that now flooded from the front And filled the window with a light like blood.
Very intense. saturate green
obsolete Satisfied, satiated.
obsolete Complete, perfect.
obsolete Saturated.

Translations

Every language

verb to cause to become penetrated or soaked

Español	empapar
Português	saturar
Français	saturer
Deutsch	sättigen
Ελληνικά	κορεννύω korennýo
Русский	пропи́тывать propítyvatʹ, пропита́ть propitátʹ

verb to become penetrated or soaked

Русский	насыща́ться nasyščátʹsja, насы́титься nasýtitʹsja, пропи́тываться propítyvatʹsja, пропита́ться propitátʹsja

verb to fill thoroughly or to excess

Español	saturar
Français	saturer

verb (chemistry) to cause a substance to become inert by chemical combination with all that it can hold

Español	saturar
Português	saturar
Deutsch	sättigen
Română	satura
Русский	насыща́ть nasyščátʹ, насы́тить nasýtitʹ

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MLA

"saturate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/saturate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

saturate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/saturate

Chicago

"saturate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/saturate.

BibTeX

@misc{saturate_2026,
  title = {saturate},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/saturate},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}