Standard Lemma guide

impregnation

noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ɪmpɹɛɡˈneɪʃən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 M P R EH1 G N EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of making pregnant; fertilization.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The fact or process of imbuing or saturating with something; diffusion of some element, idea etc. through a medium or substance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

That with which anything is impregnated.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

An ore deposit, with indefinite boundaries, consisting of rock impregnated with ore.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: geography, geology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

creation by the physical union of male and female gametes; of sperm and ova in an animal or pollen and ovule in a plant

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fertilization, fertilisation, fecundation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: creation, conception

Narrower terms: pollination, pollenation, cross-fertilization, cross-fertilisation, self-fertilization, self-fertilisation, superfecundation, superfetation

6

noun

Meaning 6

the process of totally saturating something with a substance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the impregnation of wood with preservative
  • the saturation of cotton with ether

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: saturation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: permeation, pervasion, suffusion

7

noun

Meaning 7

material with which something is impregnated

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the impregnation, whatever it was, had turned the rock blue

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: material, stuff

History

Etymology

From Middle English impregnacioun, from Old French impregnacion, in turn from Late Latin impregnatio.

Across languages

Translations

69 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: تَلْقِيح (talqīḥ) — act of making pregnant
  • Armenian: բեղմնավորում (beġmnavorum) — act of making pregnant
  • Armenian: հղիացում (hġiacʻum) — act of making pregnant
  • Belarusian: апладне́нне (apladnjénnje) — act of making pregnant
  • Belarusian: запладне́нне (zapladnjénnje) — act of making pregnant
  • Bulgarian: опло́ждане (oplóždane) — act of making pregnant
  • Catalan: impregnació — act of making pregnant
  • Chinese Mandarin: 受精 (shòujīng) — act of making pregnant
  • Chinese Mandarin: 受胎 (shòutāi) — act of making pregnant
  • Czech: oplození — act of making pregnant
  • Czech: impregnace — act of making pregnant
  • Danish: befrugtning — act of making pregnant
  • Dutch: bevruchting — act of making pregnant
  • Faroese: gitnaður — act of making pregnant
  • Finnish: hedelmöitys — act of making pregnant
  • Finnish: hedelmöittäminen — act of making pregnant
  • French: fécondation — act of making pregnant
  • French: imprégnation — act of making pregnant
  • Georgian: განაყოფიერება (ganaq̇opiereba) — act of making pregnant
  • Georgian: დაორსულება (daorsuleba) — act of making pregnant
  • German: Befruchtung — act of making pregnant
  • Hindi: निषेचन (niṣecan) — act of making pregnant
  • Hindi: गर्भाधान (garbhādhān) — act of making pregnant
  • Hungarian: átitatás — act of making pregnant
  • Icelandic: frjóvgun — act of making pregnant
  • Indonesian: penghamilan — act of making pregnant
  • Irish: toirchiú — act of making pregnant
  • Italian: impregnazione — act of making pregnant
  • Italian: fecondazione — act of making pregnant
  • Japanese: 受胎 (jutai) — act of making pregnant
  • Japanese: 懐胎 (kaitai) — act of making pregnant
  • Japanese: 受精 (jusei) — act of making pregnant
  • Korean: 수태 (sutae) — act of making pregnant
  • Korean: 수정 (sujeong) — act of making pregnant
  • Macedonian: оплодување (oploduvanje) — act of making pregnant
  • Norwegian Bokmål: befruktning — act of making pregnant
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: befrukting — act of making pregnant
  • Persian: تلقیح (talqih) — act of making pregnant
  • Polish: zapłodnienie — act of making pregnant
  • Portuguese: impregnação — act of making pregnant
  • Portuguese: fecundação — act of making pregnant
  • Romanian: fecundare — act of making pregnant
  • Russian: оплодотворе́ние (oplodotvorénije) — act of making pregnant
  • Russian: зача́тие (začátije) — act of making pregnant
  • Slovene: oplodnenie — act of making pregnant
  • Spanish: empreñación (disused) — act of making pregnant
  • Spanish: fecundación — act of making pregnant
  • Spanish: fecundización — act of making pregnant
  • Spanish: impregnación — act of making pregnant
  • Swedish: befruktning — act of making pregnant
  • Tajik: бордоркунӣ (bordorkuni) — act of making pregnant
  • Telugu: గర్భాదానము (garbhādānamu) — act of making pregnant
  • Ukrainian: заплі́днення (zaplídnennja) — act of making pregnant
  • Ukrainian: заплі́днювання (zaplídnjuvannja) — act of making pregnant
  • Bulgarian: напоя́ване (napojávane) — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Bulgarian: наси́щане (nasíštane) — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Catalan: impregnació — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Finnish: kyllästäminen — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Finnish: levittäminen — fact or process of saturating with something
  • French: imprégnation — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Italian: permeazione — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Italian: impregnazione — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Malay: impregnasi — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Malay: pengisitepuan — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Polish: impregnacja — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Portuguese: permeação — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Russian: пропи́тывание (propítyvanije) — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Russian: насыще́ние (nasyščénije) — fact or process of saturating with something
  • Spanish: impregnación — fact or process of saturating with something