How to Say "to saturate" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “to saturate” is “impregnar” — B1 level.
Examples
Tienes que impregnar el algodón con alcohol.
You have to soak the cotton with alcohol.
El olor a café impregnaba toda la casa.
The smell of coffee permeated the whole house.
La lluvia impregnó su ropa por completo.
The rain completely saturated his clothes.
Using 'de' vs 'con'
While you can use 'con' (with) for the tool used, you almost always use 'de' to describe the substance that is filling or soaking the object, like 'impregnado de perfume'.
Reflexive Use
Use 'impregnarse' when something gets soaked on its own or by accident, such as 'Mi ropa se impregnó de humo' (My clothes got soaked in smoke).
Confusing with 'embarazar'
Mistake: “Using 'impregnar' to say someone is pregnant.”
Correction: While 'impregnar' can technically mean to fertilize in biological contexts, in daily life always use 'embarazar' for people.
Related Translations
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