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to oversaturate

to oversaturate

6.8
Make colors or tones so strong that an image looks unnatural
  • verb
  • /ˌoʊvərˈsætʃʊˌreɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sobresaturar
  • The photographer decided to avoid editing that would oversaturate the colors, preserving the natural beauty of the landscape.

Examples

  • During editing, the designer noticed that the image appeared oversaturated, making the colors look unrealistic.

  • And I would just like to clarify that I would never oversaturate my photos in an unethical way.

    Blog text (14)
  • If you oversaturate your artwork with too many bright colors, it may distract viewers from the main subject.

Synonyms

to intensify
vsto oversaturate
  • Specialized
2 6.8

Make dark parts of a film or photo darker to increase contrast

increases color or tone excessively making visuals look unnaturally strong

Antonyms

to desaturate
  • Specialized
1 7.1

To make the colors in a picture less bright so it looks more gray

How Saturated

to oversaturate
  • Specialized
6.8
to saturate
55 5.2
to desaturate
  • Specialized
1 7.1

Surface Forms

oversaturate infinitive
oversaturated past participle
oversaturating present participle
oversaturates third person singular

Morphology

oversaturate = saturate (transparent) = over + saturate

In the visual context, 'over-' + 'saturate' straightforwardly means 'increase saturation to an excessive degree'; the morphological relation is clear.

Etymology

The word oversaturate comes from over- 'too much' and saturate 'to fill', like a saturated photo where every color is full and loud. So to oversaturate an image is to push the colors too far, making them look fake and harsh.