Saturate

• POS: Adjective, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: sat=u=rate

CIDE DICTIONARY

Saturate, v. t. [L. saturatus, p. p. of saturare to saturate, fr. satur full of food, sated. See Satire.].

•  To cause to become completely penetrated, impregnated, or soaked; to fill fully; to sate.  [1913 Webster]

  "Innumerable flocks and herds covered that vast expanse of emerald meadow saturated with the moisture of the Atlantic."  [1913 Webster]

  "Fill and saturate each kind
  With good according to its mind."  [1913 Webster]
•  To satisfy the affinity of; to cause to become inert by chemical combination with all that it can hold; as, to saturate phosphorus with chlorine.  [1913 Webster]

Saturate, p. a. [L. saturatus, p. p.].

 Filled to repletion; saturated; soaked.  [1913 Webster]
"Dries his feathers saturate with dew."  [1913 Webster]
"The sand beneath our feet is saturate
With blood of martyrs."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Saturate, v.tr.
1 fill with moisture; soak thoroughly.
2 (often foll. by with) fill to capacity.
3 cause (a substance, solution, vapour, metal, or air) to absorb, hold, or combine with the greatest possible amount of another substance, or of moisture, magnetism, electricity, etc.
4 cause (a substance) to combine with the maximum amount of another substance.
5 supply (a market) beyond the point at which the demand for a product is satisfied.
6 (foll. by with, in) imbue with or steep in (learning, tradition, prejudice, etc.).
7 overwhelm (enemy defences, a target area, etc.) by concentrated bombing.
8 (as saturated adj.) a (of colour) full; rich; free from an admixture of white. b (of fat molecules) containing the greatest number of hydrogen atoms.

Derivative

saturate adj. literary. saturable adj. saturant n. & adj.

Etymology

L saturare f. satur full

THESAURUS

Saturate

allay, bathe, besprinkle, breathe, brew, brim, charge, chock, choke, cloy, color, congest, cram, crowd, decoct, douche, dredge, drench, drenched, dripping, drouk, dye, engorge, entincture, fill, fill to overflowing, fill up, flavor, flush, freight, glut, gluttonize, gorge, imbrue, imbue, impregnate, infiltrate, infuse, inject, inoculate, instill, interpenetrate, jade, jam, jam-pack, lade, lave, leach, leaven, lixiviate, load, macerate, overburden, overcharge, overdose, overfeed, overfill, overgorge, overlade, overload, oversaturate, overstuff, overweight, pack, pad, pall, penetrate, percolate, permeate, pervade, pierce, probe, ram in, rinse, sate, satiate, satisfy, saturated, season, seethe, slake, soak, soaked, soaking, sodden, sop, sopping, souse, soused, steep, stuff, suffuse, supercharge, supersaturate, surcharge, surfeit, temper, tincture, tinge, top off, transfuse, wad, wash, waterlog, weight, wet

ROGET THESAURUS

Saturate

Completeness

VB be complete, come to a head, render complete, complete, fill, charge, load, replenish, make up, make good, piece out, eke out, supply deficiencies, fill up, fill in, fill to the brim, fill the measure of, saturate, go the whole hog, go the whole length, go all lengths.

Satiety

VB sate, satiate, satisfy, saturate, cloy, quench, slake, pall, glut, gorge, surfeit, bore, tire, spoil, have enough of, have quite enough of, have one's fill, have too much of, be satiated.

Moisture

VB moisten, wet, humect, humectate, sponge, damp, bedew, imbue, imbrue, infiltrate, saturate, soak, drench, be moist, not have a dry thread, perspire.