saturated

/ˌsætʃəˈreɪdɪd/

/ˈsætʃəreɪtɪd/

Saturated means drenched and full. When you fish out a slice of bread that’s fallen into your water glass and find it’s disgustingly spongy and waterlogged, it’s saturated.

Saturated originally meant “satisfied," but by the 1700s it could mean “soaked thoroughly.” In the twentieth century it developed marketing connotations, as in a saturated market — one without room for competition. In chemistry, saturated refers to an organic compound, like a fatty acid, that contains the highest number of hydrogen atoms possible. When it comes to color, saturated means pure, or undiluted with white, grey, or black.

Definitions of saturated

1. adjective

   being the most concentrated solution possible at a given temperature; unable to dissolve still more of a substance
   “a saturated solution”

   synonyms: concentrated

   supersaturated

   being more concentrated than normally possible and therefore not in equilibrium

   antonyms:

   unsaturated

   not saturated; capable of dissolving more of a substance at a given temperature
2. adjective

   used especially of organic compounds; having all available valence bonds filled
   “saturated fats”

   antonyms:

   unsaturated

   used of a compound (especially of carbon) containing atoms sharing more than one valence bond

   monounsaturated

   (of long-chain carbon compounds especially fats) saturated except for one multiple bond

   polyunsaturated

   (of long-chain carbon compounds especially fats) having many unsaturated bonds
3. adjective

   (of color) being chromatically pure; not diluted with white or grey or black
   synonyms: pure

   intense, vivid

   (of color) having the highest saturation

   antonyms:

   unsaturated

   (of color) not chromatically pure; diluted

   dull

   (of color) very low in saturation; highly diluted