unsaturated

2 definitions found

unsaturated - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Unsaturated \Un*sat"u*ra`ted\, a.
     1. Capable of absorbing or dissolving to a greater degree;
        as, an unsaturated solution.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Chem.) Capable of taking up, or of uniting with, certain
        other elements or compounds, without the elimination of
        any side product; thus, aldehyde, ethylene, and ammonia
        are unsaturated; benzene has three unsaturated bonds. The
        term is applied most commonly to compounds with a double
        or triple bond between two carbon atoms (as in ethylene).
        [1913 Webster +PJC]

unsaturated - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  unsaturated
      adj 1: not saturated; capable of dissolving more of a substance
             at a given temperature; "an unsaturated salt solution"
             [ant: concentrated, saturated]
      2: used of a compound (especially of carbon) containing atoms
         sharing more than one valence bond; "unsaturated fats" [ant:
         saturated]
      3: (of color) not chromatically pure; diluted; "an unsaturated
         red" [ant: pure, saturated]