Saturated

How to spell saturated

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce saturated

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does saturated mean?

1. adjectiveThoroughly soaked or filled so that no more can be absorbed.
2. adjectiveIn chemistry or nutrition, holding the maximum possible amount of a substance, as in a solution that can dissolve no more or a fat whose carbon bonds are full of hydrogen.

Saturated in a sentence

• The soil was so saturated after the storm that the new turf simply floated.

• The dietitian advised cutting back on saturated fat to lower his cholesterol.

• By the time he reached the office his coat was saturated and dripping.

• Once the solution is saturated, any extra salt just settles at the bottom.

Where does saturated come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb saturare, meaning 'to fill full' or 'to glut', which was built on the adjective satur, literally 'full' or 'well fed'. That same root for fullness lies behind the English word 'satisfy' and the rarer 'satiate', all sharing the idea of having had quite enough. English took 'saturate' in the early 1500s, at first meaning to fill something completely, and the past participle 'saturated' soon described anything soaked or charged to its limit. By the 1800s scientists were using it precisely for a solution that can dissolve no more of a substance, and chemists later applied 'saturated' to fats whose carbon bonds are filled with hydrogen. The spelling trap is the quiet middle vowel: it is satur with an 'a', echoing the Latin satur, even though many writers expect an 'e' there.

How the word is built

• satur- (from Latin satur: full, sated)
• -ate (verb-forming suffix)
• -ed (past participle/adjective)