Saturation
/ˌsætʃəˈreɪʃən/
nounB2
Definition
Saturation means being full or completely filled with something, often a liquid, color, or information. For example, when a sponge is saturated with water, it cannot take in more water. In colors, saturation refers to how strong or pure a color looks.
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See It in Action
Being completely full or soaked with a liquid or substance
- •After the rain, the ground reached saturation and could not absorb more water.
- •The sponge reached saturation and started dripping.
- •The fabric's saturation with dye made it very colorful.
The intensity or purity of a color
- •The photo has high saturation, so the colors look bright and strong.
- •Red with low saturation looks pale and grayish.
- •Adjusting saturation changes how vivid a picture appears.
A state of full capacity or maximum level (used in other contexts like markets or signals)
- •The market reached saturation when no more customers wanted the product.
- •The radio signal reached saturation and could not get stronger.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "saturation" like "full" (A1 word), but more about being completely full or soaked, not just a little full
- ✓Picture a sponge soaked in water until it drips and cannot hold any more
- ✓It's the feeling when you have eaten so much food that you cannot eat another bite
- ✓Sounds like "sat-chur-RAY-shun" → imagine a sponge SATurating water and RAYs of color filling it completely
- ✓Imagine a bright red apple with very strong color (high saturation) versus a pale, washed-out apple (low saturation)
- ✓NOT like "wet" (just some water), saturation means completely full or soaked
- ✓NOT like "color" alone, saturation is about how deep or pure that color looks, not just the color itself
- ✓NOT like "half full" or "partly soaked," saturation means no more can be added or absorbed
Try Other Words
- •Soaked: completely wet or filled with liquid (Use when talking about liquids and physical absorption)
- •Fullness: the state of being full (Use in general contexts about capacity)
- •Intensity: the strength or power of something, like color (Use when referring to color or emotions)
- •Capacity: the maximum amount something can hold (Use when talking about limits or maximum levels)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: "satur-" (from Latin meaning "full, filled") + "-ation" (a suffix that turns verbs into nouns meaning "the process or state of")
- •Etymology: From Latin "saturatio," meaning the action of filling or satisfying fully
- •Historical development: First used in English in the 1600s to describe the process of filling something completely, especially in chemistry and later in color theory
- •Modern usage: Used in science, art, business, and everyday language to describe being completely full, soaked, or at maximum level of something
Reflect & Connect
•How can saturation affect the way we see colors in pictures or nature?
•Can saturation be a good or bad thing in different situations, like in markets or emotions?
Fill in the blanks
1.When the soil reaches saturation, it can no longer ___ more water during rain.
2.High saturation in a photo makes the colors look ___ and strong, while low saturation makes them look pale.
3.The sponge was so full of water that its saturation caused it to ___.
4.Market saturation happens when most customers have already ___ the product.
5.Adjusting the saturation level changes the ___ of colors in an image.
6.Saturation means the material is completely ___ and cannot hold more.
7.When a radio signal reaches saturation, it cannot ___ any stronger signals.