saturate

/ˈsæʧəˌreɪt/

Other forms: saturated; saturating; saturates

The verb saturate means to cause something to be fully soaked to the point where it can't take on anything else. A heavy rainstorm can saturate the ground, leaving puddles on the lawn because no more water can be absorbed.

The word saturate comes from the Latin word saturatus, meaning "to fill full, sate, drench." Saturate is often used to describe the aftermath of a big rainstorm, but other things can be saturated as well. If you're a workaholic, you might saturate all your free time with work, leaving no time to spend with your family. In chemistry, saturate describes causing one substance, like a solution, to take on the greatest amount of another substance.

Definitions of saturate

1. verb

   infuse or fill completely
   synonyms: impregnate

   types:

   medicate

   impregnate with a medicinal substance

   alcoholise, alcoholize

   treat or infuse with alcohol

   imbue, soak

   fill, soak, or imbue totally

   ammonify

   treat with ammonia; cause to undergo ammonification

   thoriate

   impregnate with thorium oxide to increase thermionic emission

   stuff

   treat with grease, fill, and prepare for mounting

   charge

   saturate

   drench, imbrue

   permeate or impregnate

   infuse, steep

   let sit in a liquid to extract a flavor or to cleanse

   brew

   sit or let sit in boiling water so as to extract the flavor

   type of:

   fill, fill up, make full

   make full, also in a metaphorical sense
2. verb

   cause (a chemical compound, vapour, solution, magnetic material) to unite with the greatest possible amount of another substance
   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation