Definition
To saturate is to fill something until it can hold no more. The Latin root satur means 'full of food' — the same fullness as in 'satisfied' — and every use keeps the idea of a limit reached: rain saturates the soil until water stands on the surface; a market saturated with apps has no room for one more; a saturated solution will accept no more salt, however long you stir. The defining moment is the saturation point — where absorbing ends and overflowing begins.
Examples
- After a week of rain the ground was so saturated that new storms ran straight off into the rivers.
- The streaming market has become saturated, with dozens of services competing for the same subscribers.
- Keep adding sugar until the solution is saturated and no more will dissolve.
Collocations
saturated with·reach saturation point·market saturation·a saturated solution·saturated fats
Synonyms
soak·drench·permeate·flood·suffuse
Antonyms
drain·deplete·dry out
Word family
saturation (noun)·saturated (adjective)
In TOEFL & IELTS
A double-duty science and business word. TOEFL chemistry and earth-science passages rely on the literal sense — saturated solutions, saturated soil and groundwater — while economics texts use 'market saturation' for growth that has run out of room. IELTS health readings add 'saturated fats'. The high-value phrase for essays is 'reach saturation point': a precise way to say that further growth is impossible.