Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for impregnate

impregnate

[ verb im-preg-neyt, im-preg-neyt; adjective im-preg-nit, -neyt ]

verb (used with object)

, im·preg·nat·ed, im·preg·nat·ing.
  1. to make pregnant; cause to be with child or young.
  2. to cause to be permeated or saturated with a substance:

    To relieve cold and flu symptoms, impregnate a handkerchief with oils of eucalyptus and mint and inhale its scent.

    Synonyms: penetrate, infuse, permeate

  3. to fill the interstices, openings, or cells of (a fine network, or the like) with a substance:

    The stainless steel housing contains a ceramic honeycomb impregnated with platinum, rhodium, and palladium.

  4. to infuse or imbue with some quality or element:

    Picasso’s later paintings are impregnated with a certain melancholy.

    The air was pleasantly impregnated with the odor of pines.



impregnate

verb

  1. to saturate, soak, or infuse

    to impregnate a cloth with detergent

  2. to imbue or permeate; pervade
  3. to cause to conceive; make pregnant
  4. to fertilize (an ovum)
  5. to make (land, soil, etc) fruitful


adjective

  1. pregnant or fertilized

Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˌimpregˈnation, noun
  • imˈpregnator, noun

Discover More

Other Words From

  • im·preg·na·tion [im-preg-, ney, -sh, uh, n], noun
  • im·preg·na·tor noun
  • im·preg·na·to·ry [im-, preg, -n, uh, -tawr-ee], adjective
  • re·im·preg·nate verb (used with object) reimpregnated reimpregnating
  • re·im·preg·na·tion noun
  • self-im·preg·nat·ing adjective
  • self-im·preg·na·tion noun
  • self-im·preg·na·tor noun

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of impregnate1

First recorded in 1535–45; from Late Latin impraegnātus, past participle of impraegnāre “to fertilize, impregnate,” equivalent to im- im- 1( def ) + praegn-, stem of praegnās, variant of praegnāns (stem praegnant-) “pregnant, with child” + -ātus past participle suffix; pregnant 1( def ), -ate 1( def )

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of impregnate1

C17: from Late Latin impraegnāre to make pregnant, from Latin im- in- ² + praegnans pregnant

Discover More

Example Sentences

Just over a dozen years later, during the frost of 1621, ice was so thick that teenagers felt confident in burning a gallon of wine upon the Thames, while a woman asked her husband to impregnate her upon the frozen river.

There is wide disagreement on the length of time that sperm may be frozen and then thawed and used successfully to impregnate a woman, with estimates ranging from only 16 months to as much as 10 years.

Although fertility was not back to normal levels, there was no noticeable difference in the litter size of females impregnated by the treated mice and no morphological defects were observed in any of the mice pups.

Montijo said piddle packs were not too difficult to use with normal flight gear, but the real challenge was to do it while wearing an anti-exposure suit, a full-length rubber impregnated suit with booties that’s kind of like a diver’s wetsuit.

A recent issue contained a scratch-and-sniff card impregnated with the scent of an extinct flower.

Birenbaum-Carmeli also points to technology that means even a near-sterile man can now be assisted to impregnate his wife.

Sex addiction is simply a new name for the old evolutionary concept—the innate urge to impregnate as many females as possible.

He squeezes it between his fingers, in order to completely impregnate it and dries it.

Her remorseful grief, though silent, seemed to impregnate the atmosphere with its heaviness.

To impregnate these, a bunch of male flowers is carefully inserted and fastened in the calyx.

Impregnate the tissues with mucilage for twelve to twenty-four hours, according to size.

They can impregnate cloth and leather, nay, even paper and parchment, with the most subtle venom.

Advertisement

Word of the Day

tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

Meaning and examples

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


impregnableimpregnated