saturation

/ˈsætʃəˌreɪʃən/

Other forms: saturations

Saturation means holding as much moisture as possible. When you water your houseplants, you may soak them until the soil around each plant reaches saturation.

The noun saturation means the act of completely soaking something until it's absorbed as much water as it can. Imagine a sponge that can't get any more wet, and you'll have an idea of what saturation means. When you're talking about art, saturation means the amount of bright, undiluted color in a painting or photograph, usually colors that are quite intense and unshaded. The Latin root saturatus means "to fill, sate, or drench."

Definitions of saturation

1. noun

   the process of totally saturating something with a substance
   “the saturation of cotton with ether”

   synonyms: impregnation

   type of:

   permeation, pervasion, suffusion

   the process of permeating or infusing something with a substance
2. noun

   the act of soaking thoroughly with a liquid
   type of:

   filling

   the act of filling something
3. noun

   a condition in which a quantity no longer responds to some external influence
   types:

   saturation point

   (chemistry) the stage at which a substance will receive no more of another substance in solution or in a vapor

   dew point

   the temperature at which the water vapor in the air becomes saturated and condensation begins

   type of:

   condition, status

   a state at a particular time
4. noun

   chromatic purity: freedom from dilution with white and hence vivid in hue
   synonyms: chroma, intensity, vividness

   type of:

   color property

   an attribute of color