saturation

Name: saturation, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

noun

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“saturation” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,950 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#17,950
frequency rank, English: 10
letters: 15
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of saturating or the process of being saturated.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

saturation vs situation

80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for saturation
Property	Value
Headword	saturation
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#17,950
Misspellings tracked	15
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “saturation” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). saturation lands here:

#17,950

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for saturation is 10 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #17,950 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 14 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for saturation, with forms such as "asturation", "satruation", and "satturation". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "situation", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Late Latin saturatiobor. English saturation Borrowed from Late Latin saturatio, saturationem. The correct English form is saturation, spelled S-A-T-U-R-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

1
The act of saturating or the process of being saturated.
2
The condition in which, after a sufficient increase in a causal force, no further increase in the resultant effect is possible; e.g. the state of a ferromagnetic material that cannot be further magnetized.
3
The state of a saturated solution.
4
The state of an organic compound that has no double or triple bonds.
5
The smallest set containing S which is saturated with respect to the equivalence relation or function.
6
The state of the atmosphere when it is saturated with water vapour; 100% humidity.
7
The intensity or vividness of a colour.
8
Chromatic purity; freedom from dilution with white.
9
intense bombing of a military target with the aim of destroying it.
10
The flooding of a market with all of a product that can be sold.
11
An effect on the sound of an electric guitar, used primarily in heavy metal music.
12
The condition at which a component of the system has reached its maximum traffic-handling capacity, i.e. one erlang per circuit.
13
The point at which the output of a linear device, such as a linear amplifier, deviates significantly from being a linear function of the input when the input signal is increased.
14
A form of arithmetic in which all operations are limited to a fixed range of values. See Saturation arithmetic.

Etymology

Etymology tree Late Latin saturatiobor. English saturation Borrowed from Late Latin saturatio, saturationem.

This word in other languages

saturación(Español)saturation(Français)Sättigung(Deutsch)saturação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: asturation,satruation,satturation,satuartion,saturaiton,saturasion,saturatino,saturationn,saturatoin,saturattion,saturration,saturtaion,sautration,ssaturation,stauration

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of saturation - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

Edit distance from "saturation"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "saturation"?

"saturation" is spelled S-A-T-U-R-A-T-I-O-N.

What does "saturation" mean?

As a noun, "saturation" means: The act of saturating or the process of being saturated.

What words are commonly confused with "saturation"?

"saturation" is commonly confused with "situation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

What is the origin of the word "saturation"?

Etymology tree Late Latin saturatiobor. English saturation Borrowed from Late Latin saturatio, saturationem. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “saturation”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is S-A-T-U-R-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Don't mix it up with “situation” - see the side-by-side comparison. saturation vs situation
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.