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impregnate

[verb im-preg-neyt, im-preg-neyt; adjective im-preg-nit, -neyt]
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verb (used with object), im·preg·nat·ed, im·preg·nat·ing.

to make pregnant; get with child or young.
to fertilize.
to cause to be infused or permeated throughout, as with a substance; saturate: to impregnate a handkerchief with cheap perfume.
to fill interstices with a substance.
to furnish with some actuating or modifying element infused or introduced; imbue, infect; tincture.

adjective

impregnated.

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RELATED WORDS

intake, digestion, consumption, saturation, penetration, retention, propagation, breeding, procreation, implantation, pollination, overload, congestion, concentration, origin, fertilization, fusion, ingestion, osmosis, reception

Nearby words

  1. imprecation,
  2. imprecise,
  3. imprecision,
  4. impredicative,
  5. impregnable,
  6. impregnation,
  7. impresa,
  8. impresario,
  9. imprescriptible,
  10. impress

Origin of impregnate

1535–45; < Late Latin impraegnātus past participle of impraegnāre to fertilize, impregnate, equivalent to im- im-1 + praegn- (see pregnant1) + -ātus -ate1
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for impregnation

British Dictionary definitions for impregnation

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 Formsimpregnation, 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
Word Origin and History for impregnation
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for impregnation

impregnate

[ĭm-prĕg′nāt]

v.

To make pregnant; to cause to conceive; inseminate.
To fertilize an ovum.
To fill throughout; saturate.
Related formsim′preg•na′tion n.im•preg′na′tor n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.