impregnate

[ verb im-preg-neyt, im-preg-neyt; adjective im-preg-nit, -neyt ]

/ verb ɪmˈprɛg neɪt, ˈɪm prɛgˌneɪt; adjective ɪmˈprɛg nɪt, -neɪt /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: impregnate / impregnated / impregnation on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), im·preg·nat·ed, im·preg·nat·ing.

to make pregnant; cause to be with child or young.

to cause to be permeated or saturated with a substance: To relieve cold and flu symptoms, impregnate a handkerchief with oils of eucalyptus and mint and inhale its scent.

to fill the interstices, openings, or cells of (a fine network, or the like) with a substance: The stainless steel housing contains a ceramic honeycomb impregnated with platinum, rhodium, and palladium.

to infuse or imbue with some quality or element: Picasso’s later paintings are impregnated with a certain melancholy.The air was pleasantly impregnated with the odor of pines.

adjective

impregnated.

OTHER WORDS FOR impregnate

3 permeate, infuse, penetrate.

See synonyms for impregnate on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of impregnate

First recorded in 1535–45; from Late Latin impraegnātus, past participle of impraegnāre “to fertilize, impregnate,” equivalent to im- im-¹ + praegn-, stem of praegnās, variant of praegnāns (stem praegnant-) “pregnant, with child” + -ātus past participle suffix; see origin at pregnant¹, -ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM impregnate

im·preg·na·tion [im-preg-ney-shuhn], /ˌɪm prɛgˈneɪ ʃən/, nounim·preg·na·tor, nounim·preg·na·to·ry

[im-preg-nuh-tawr-ee], /ɪmˈprɛg nəˌtɔr i/, adjectivere·im·preg·nate, verb (used with object), re·im·preg·nat·ed, re·im·preg·nat·ing.

re·im·preg·na·tion, nounself-im·preg·nat·ing, adjectiveself-im·preg·na·tion, nounself-im·preg·na·tor, noun

Words nearby impregnate

imprecate, imprecation, imprecise, impredicative, impregnable, impregnate, impregnated, impresa, impresario, imprescriptible, impress

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use impregnate in a sentence

Just over a dozen years later, during the frost of 1621, ice was so thick that teenagers felt confident in burning a gallon of wine upon the Thames, while a woman asked her husband to impregnate her upon the frozen river.
The Original Climate Crisis: How the Little Ice Age Devastated Early Modern Europe|Ariel Hessayon|March 11, 2022|Singularity Hub
There is wide disagreement on the length of time that sperm may be frozen and then thawed and used successfully to impregnate a woman, with estimates ranging from only 16 months to as much as 10 years.
50 years ago, freezing sperm faced scientific skepticism|Aina Abell|February 25, 2022|Science News
Although fertility was not back to normal levels, there was no noticeable difference in the litter size of females impregnated by the treated mice and no morphological defects were observed in any of the mice pups.
Great Balls Of Fire: How Heating Up Testicles With Nanoparticles Might One Day Be A Form Of Male Birth Control|LGBTQ-Editor|January 10, 2022|No Straight News
Montijo said piddle packs were not too difficult to use with normal flight gear, but the real challenge was to do it while wearing an anti-exposure suit, a full-length rubber impregnated suit with booties that’s kind of like a diver’s wetsuit.
The Air Force is testing a less awkward replacement for ‘piddle packs’|David Roza/Task & Purpose|December 9, 2021|Popular-Science

A recent issue contained a scratch-and-sniff card impregnated with the scent of an extinct flower.
Is Ginkgo’s synthetic-biology story worth $15 billion?|Antonio Regalado|August 24, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Birenbaum-Carmeli also points to technology that means even a near-sterile man can now be assisted to impregnate his wife.
Israel’s Sperm Clinic Crisis|Alastair Sloan|March 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sex addiction is simply a new name for the old evolutionary concept—the innate urge to impregnate as many females as possible.
Every Man Is a Sex Addict|T. Byram Karasu|February 24, 2010|DAILY BEAST
He squeezes it between his fingers, in order to completely impregnate it and dries it.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
Her remorseful grief, though silent, seemed to impregnate the atmosphere with its heaviness.
The Well-Beloved|Thomas Hardy
To impregnate these, a bunch of male flowers is carefully inserted and fastened in the calyx.
The Desert World|Arthur Mangin
Impregnate the tissues with mucilage for twelve to twenty-four hours, according to size.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre
They can impregnate cloth and leather, nay, even paper and parchment, with the most subtle venom.
The Talisman|Sir Walter Scott

British Dictionary definitions for impregnate

impregnate

verb (ˈɪmprɛɡˌneɪt) (tr)

to saturate, soak, or infuseto impregnate a cloth with detergent

to imbue or permeate; pervade

to cause to conceive; make pregnant

to fertilize (an ovum)

to make (land, soil, etc) fruitful

adjective (ɪmˈprɛɡnɪt, -ˌneɪt)

pregnant or fertilized

Derived forms of impregnate

impregnation, nounimpregnator, noun

Word Origin for impregnate

C17: from Late Latin impraegnāre to make pregnant, from Latin im- in- ² + praegnans pregnant

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

impregnate

OTHER WORDS FOR impregnate

Origin of impregnate

OTHER WORDS FROM impregnate

Words nearby impregnate

Words related to impregnate

How to use impregnate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for impregnate

Derived forms of impregnate

Word Origin for impregnate