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sat·u·ra·tion (click to hear the word) (sch-rshn) n. The act or process of saturating. The condition of being saturated. The condition of being full to or beyond satisfaction; satiety. Physics A state of a ferromagnetic substance in which an increase in applied magnetic field strength does not produce an increase in magnetization. Chemistry The state of a compound or solution that is fully saturated. Meteorology A condition in which air at a specific temperature contains all the water vapor it can hold; 100 percent relative humidity. Vividness of hue; degree of difference from a gray of the same lightness or brightness. Also called intensity. See Table at color. Intensive shelling or bombing of a military target to achieve total destruction. The flooding of a market with all of a commodity that consumers can purchase.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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