oversaturate

verb

over·​sat·​u·​rate ˌō-vər-ˈsa-chə-ˌrāt 

oversaturated; oversaturating

transitive verb

: to saturate to an excessive degree

… since the company went public, it's been opening so many stores that it's at risk of oversaturating its own market …

—Angela Mulholland

… the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge … slipped several feet in February when storms oversaturated the underlying soil.

—Kurtis Alexander

… settings that don't oversaturate colors or look too dim.

—Dieter Bohn

also : supersaturate

oversaturated the water with salt

oversaturated adjective

… delivers impressive image quality. Colors are bright and realistic without being oversaturated.

—Luisa Simone

Perhaps you remember a chemistry experiment from high school: You dissolve a salt in hot water, let the solution cool down, put a small crystal in the now oversaturated solution—then all of a sudden crystals form.

—Bert J. M. de Vries

oversaturation

ˌō-vər-ˌsa-chə-ˈrā-shən 

adjective

oversaturation of the market with too many action films

… colors usually struck a nice balance between accurate and pleasant oversaturation.

—Mitt Jones

Examples of oversaturate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nationally, the housing market has become oversaturated with agents, and not just with ones who used to be on TV. — Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2026

Your grass will get plenty of hydration from Mother Nature, so less watering can prevent the soil from becoming oversaturated. — Helena Madden, Martha Stewart, 21 Aug. 2026

In fact, the team had a full biscuit guide to ensure the lions always looked just right—never supernatural or oversaturated. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2026

Bouclé has been popular long enough that some designers are calling it oversaturated. — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 22 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1745, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for oversaturate

• borosilicate
• decontaminate
• deoxycholate
• deteriorate
• differentiate
• diisocyanate
• dinoflagellate
• excommunicate
• incapacitate
• insubordinate
• intercorporate
• interpenetrate