saturation

[ sach-uh-rey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or process of saturating.
2. the state of being saturated. saturated.
3. Meteorology. a condition in the atmosphere corresponding to 100 percent relative humidity.
4. the degree of chroma or purity of a color; the degree of freedom from admixture with white.
5. Magnetism. the state of maximum magnetization of a ferromagnetic material.

saturation

/ ˌsætʃəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of saturating or the state of being saturated
2. chem the state of a chemical compound, solution, or vapour when it is saturated
3. meteorol the state of the atmosphere when it can hold no more water vapour at its particular temperature and pressure, the relative humidity then being 100 per cent
4. See colour
   the attribute of a colour that enables an observer to judge its proportion of pure chromatic colour See also colour
5. physics the state of a ferromagnetic material in which it is fully magnetized. The magnetic domains are then all fully aligned
6. electronics the state of a valve or semiconductor device that is carrying the maximum current of which it is capable and is therefore unresponsive to further increases of input signal
7. the level beyond which demand for a product or service is not expected to increase

adjective

1. denoting the maximum possible intensity of coverage of an area

   a saturation release of a film

   saturation bombing

saturation

/ săch′ə-rā′shən /

1. The state of a physical system, such as a solution, containing as much of another substance, such as a solute, as is possible at a given temperature or pressure.
2. The vividness of a color's hue. Saturation measures the degree to which a color differs from a gray of the same darkness or lightness.
3. Compare hue
4. The state of being a saturated organic compound.
5. See more at saturated

Other Words From

• de·satu·ration noun
• nonsat·u·ration noun
• over·satu·ration noun
• subsat·u·ration noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of saturation¹

1545–55; < Late Latin saturātiōn- (stem of saturātiō ) a filling, equivalent to saturāt ( us ) ( saturate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

The color e-paper display still lacks saturation, if not contrast.

From TechCrunch

That was also the point at which states were beginning to reach saturation on the oldest vaccine recipients, so it’s likely that the shift had multiple causes.

From Washington Post

Campaigns are constantly updated and adapted to improve on what’s just been learned, down to granularity such as what level of color saturation to use on Instagram in the morning versus the afternoon or evening.

From Digiday

Mohan’s health worsened on April 25, and that night, the oxygen saturation in his blood dropped to a dangerous level.

From Washington Post

The hardware attempts to read the oxygen saturation in your blood.

From Popular-Science

Russians believe the best way to dry out from vodka saturation is with a sauna session and a beating with birch branches.

From The Daily Beast

That weekend initiated the phenomenon of saturation TV coverage.

From The Daily Beast

Otherwise the saturation coverage of the young victims will, over time, come to seem awfully hollow.

From The Daily Beast

In the saturation coverage that followed the Connecticut school massacre, some in the media made an awful mistake.

From The Daily Beast

“I have reached a saturation point on the small talk about her clothes,” Givhan writes.

From The Daily Beast

There are many gradations of dirt and various degrees of saturation from salt water, but this combination is unapproachable.

From Project Gutenberg

Only when it remains blue, has the point of saturation been reached.

From Project Gutenberg

But finally he reached the state of saturation where the liquor produced a steadily diminishing effect.

From Project Gutenberg

The point of saturation, or else the limit of human ingenuity, seems to have been about reached some years ago.

From Project Gutenberg

I have frequently been wet to saturation in Africa, and nothing ever occurred from it, by pursuing the course here laid down.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• congestion
• overload