impregnation
/,impreg'neiʃn/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- The process of fertilizing an egg or ovum: The biological act or result of a male gamete (sperm, pollen) uniting with a female gamete (egg, ovule) to initiate the development of a new organism.
- The process of thoroughly saturating a material with a substance: The act of filling the pores or fibers of a material with another substance, often to give it new properties.
- The substance used to saturate a material: The material or agent with which something is impregnated.
Examples of Usage
Noun (Fertilization):
- The impregnation of the ovum occurs in the fallopian tube.
- In botany, impregnation involves the fusion of pollen and ovule.
Noun (Saturation):
- The impregnation of the fabric with a waterproofing agent made it suitable for outdoor use.
- The wood's durability was improved through impregnation with a chemical preservative.
Noun (Substance Used):
- The blue color was caused by the impregnation in the rock.
- The specific impregnation used determines the final properties of the composite material.
Advanced Usage
- Technical/Industrial Context: Often used in manufacturing and materials science to describe processes like pressure treatment or chemical infusion.
- Vacuum impregnation is a common method for sealing porous metal castings.
Variants and Related Words
- Impregnate (verb): To make pregnant; to fertilize. To saturate or fill thoroughly with a substance.
- The goal is to impregnate the timber with the solution.
- Impregnable (adjective): (Note: This is a different, though related, word meaning "unable to be captured or broken into," deriving from a different Latin root). Not a direct variant of the process described by "impregnation."
Synonyms
- Fertilization, conception, insemination (for the biological sense).
- Saturation, infusion, permeation, soaking (for the material sense).
Related Phrases/Idioms
- (This word is primarily technical and does not commonly feature in idiomatic phrases.)
Noun
- creation by the physical union of male and female gametes; of sperm and ova in an animal or pollen and ovule in a plant
- the process of totally saturating something with a substance
- the impregnation of wood with preservative
- the saturation of cotton with ether
- material with which something is impregnated
- the impregnation, whatever it was, had turned the rock blue