*saturat*

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Saturated p. pr. & vb. n. Saturating. ] [ L. saturatus, p. p. of saturare to saturate, fr. satur full of food, sated. See Satire. ] 1. 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. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fill and saturate each kind
With good according to its mind. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Chem.) 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 ]

p. a. [ L. saturatus, p. p. ] Filled to repletion; saturated; soaked. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dries his feathers saturate with dew. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

The sand beneath our feet is saturate
With blood of martyrs. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Filled to repletion; holding by absorption, or in solution, all that is possible; as, saturated garments; a saturated solution of salt. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Chem.) Having its affinity satisfied; combined with all it can hold; -- said of certain atoms, radicals, or compounds; thus, methane is a saturated compound. Contrasted with unsaturated. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ A saturated compound may exchange certain ingredients for others, but can not take on more without such exchange. [ 1913 Webster ]

Saturated color (Optics), a color not diluted with white; a pure unmixed color, like those of the spectrum. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. saturatio: cf. F. saturation. ] 1. The act of saturating, or the state of being saturating; complete penetration or impregnation. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Chem.) The act, process, or result of saturating a substance, or of combining it to its fullest extent. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Optics) Freedom from mixture or dilution with white; purity; -- said of colors. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The degree of saturation of a color is its relative purity, or freedom from admixture with white. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ] One who, or that which, saturates. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To add to beyond saturation; as, to supersaturate a solution. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The operation of supersaturating, or the state of being supersaturated. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Not fully saturated; imperfectly saturated. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Capable of absorbing or dissolving to a greater degree; as, an unsaturated solution. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Chem.) Capable of taking up, or of uniting with, certain other elements or compounds, without the elimination of any side product; thus, aldehyde, ethylene, and ammonia are unsaturated; benzene has three unsaturated bonds. The term is applied most commonly to compounds with a double or triple bond between two carbon atoms (as in ethylene). [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]