saturate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause (a substance) to unite with the greatest possible amount of another substance, through solution, chemical combination, or the like.
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to charge to the utmost, as with magnetism.
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to soak, impregnate, or imbue thoroughly or completely.
to saturate a sponge with water; a town saturated with charm.
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to destroy (a target) completely with bombs and missiles.
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to send so many planes over (a target area) that the defensive electronic tracking equipment becomes ineffective.
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to furnish (a market) with goods to its full purchasing capacity.
verb (used without object)
adjective
noun
verb
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to fill, soak, or imbue totally
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to make (a chemical compound, vapour, solution, magnetic material, etc) saturated or (of a compound, vapour, etc) to become saturated
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(tr) military to bomb or shell heavily
adjective
Related Words
See wet.
Other Word Forms
- desaturate verb (used with object)
- oversaturate verb (used with object)
- saturater noun
Etymology
Origin of saturate
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin saturātus (past participle of saturāre “to fill”), equivalent to satur- “full, well-fed” ( sad ) + -ātus -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Given saturated ground in many parts of the UK and flood warnings, mainly in England, the risk of flooding will remain a concern well in to March.
From BBC
The saturated ground means that floodwaters are only very slowly receding in many places.
From BBC
Around 60 flood warnings remain in force and further rain falling on saturated ground may mean this number increases through Wednesday.
From BBC
With the ground very saturated, there may be additional warnings to cover the heavy rain and risk of flooding so stay tuned to the forecast.
From BBC
Heavy deluges and saturated soils have the potential to cause significant damage to homes, transport infrastructure and food supply.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
