SATURATED

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does saturated mean? 

• SATURATED (adjective)
  The adjective SATURATED has 3 senses:

1. being the most concentrated solution possible at a given temperature; unable to dissolve still more of a substance

2. used especially of organic compounds; having all available valence bonds filled

3. (of color) being chromatically pure; not diluted with white or grey or black

  Familiarity information: SATURATED used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SATURATED (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Being the most concentrated solution possible at a given temperature; unable to dissolve still more of a substance

Synonyms:

concentrated; saturated

Context example:

a saturated solution

Similar:

supersaturated (being more concentrated than normally possible and therefore not in equilibrium)

Antonym:

unsaturated (not saturated; capable of dissolving more of a substance at a given temperature)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Used especially of organic compounds; having all available valence bonds filled

Context example:

saturated fats

Domain category:

chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)

Antonym:

unsaturated (used of a compound (especially of carbon) containing atoms sharing more than one valence bond)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(of color) being chromatically pure; not diluted with white or grey or black

Synonyms:

pure; saturated

Similar:

intense; vivid ((of color) having the highest saturation)

Antonym:

unsaturated ((of color) not chromatically pure; diluted)

 Context examples 

A saturated short-chain fatty acid with a 4-carbon backbone.

(Butyric Acid, NCI Thesaurus)

Role of saturated fats in cancer causation or prevention and in general health.

(Nutrition, Fats, Saturated, NCI Thesaurus)

A saturated medium-chain fatty acid with an 8-carbon backbone.

(Octanoic Acid, NCI Thesaurus)

However, mutant mice fed a diet rich in saturated fats and cholesterol were largely protected.

(Diet Affects Autoinflammatory Disease Via Gut Microbes, NIH)

The determination of the amount of partial pressure of oxygen when hemoglobin is half saturated that is present in a sample.

(P50 Oxygen Measurement, NCI Thesaurus)

A saturated fatty acid with a 15-carbon backbone.

(Pentadecylic Acid, NCI Thesaurus)

Pick foods that are low in cholesterol and fat, especially saturated and trans fats.

(Nutrition for Seniors, NIH: National Institute on Aging)

I was not merely over head and ears in love with her, but I was saturated through and through.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A saturated long-chain fatty acid with a 20-carbon backbone.

(Arachidic Acid, NCI Thesaurus)

A saturated very long-chain fatty acid with a 22-carbon backbone.

(Behenic Acid, NCI Thesaurus)