Origin of saturate

1530–40; < Latin saturātus (past participle of saturāre to fill), equivalent to satur- full, well-fed (see sad) + -ātus -ate1

SYNONYMS FOR saturate

3 See wet.

OTHER WORDS FROM saturate

de·sat·u·rate, verb (used with object), de·sat·u·rat·ed, de·sat·u·rat·ing. o·ver·sat·u·rate, verb (used with object), o·ver·sat·u·rat·ed, o·ver·sat·u·rat·ing.

Words nearby saturate

sattva, sattvic, satu-mare, saturable, saturant, saturate, saturated, saturated adiabatic lapse rate, saturated compound, saturated fat, saturated fats

British Dictionary definitions for desaturate

saturate

verb (ˈsætʃəˌreɪt)

to fill, soak, or imbue totally
to make (a chemical compound, vapour, solution, magnetic material, etc) saturated or (of a compound, vapour, etc) to become saturated
(tr) military to bomb or shell heavily

adjective (ˈsætʃərɪt, -ˌreɪt)

a less common word for saturated

Derived forms of saturate

saturater or saturator, noun

Word Origin for saturate

C16: from Latin saturāre, from satur sated, from satis enough

Medical definitions for desaturate

saturate
[ săch′ə-rāt′ ]

v.

To imbue or impregnate thoroughly.
To soak, fill, or load to capacity.
To cause a substance to unite with the greatest possible amount of another substance.
To satisfy all the chemical affinities of a substance; neutralize.
To dissolve a substance up to that concentration beyond which the addition of more results in a second phase.

Other words from saturate

sat′u•ra•ble (săch′ər-ə-bəl) adj. sat′u•ra′tor n.