unˈsaturated, ppl. a.
(un-1 8; cf. saturated ppl. a. 3 b.)
| 1758 Reid tr. Macquer's Chym. I. 395 That portion of the Acid which remains unsaturated will dissolve the Mercury. 1791 Phil. Trans. LXXXI. 219 Any surplus of..air would only have remained unsaturated. 1832 Nat. Philos., Electr. ii. §53 (L.U.K.), Its unsaturated matter would have exerted an attractive force on the fluid. 1866 Notices Proc. R. Inst. Gt. Brit. IV. 417 The two nitrogen arms which are left exposed sufficiently indicate that two attraction units remain unsaturated. 1872 Phil. Mag. XLIII. 259 A radical..is a portion of a molecule, a group of atoms, the affinities of which do not wholly saturate one another, the radical being uni-, bi-, tri-, quadri-, &c. valent, according as 1, 2, 3, 4,..affinities are left unsaturated. 1879 O. N. Rood Chromatics xviii. 307 He must mainly use the pale unsaturated colours of nature. 1916 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. XXXVIII. 778 It has been generally assumed that what is known as a bivalent element must be tied by two bonds to another element or elements, or remain with an ‘unsaturated valence’. 1951 I. L. Finar Org. Chem. iv. 67 The acetylenes are unsaturated hydrocarbons that contain one triple bond. 1982 J. E. Fernandez Org. Chem. v. 89 The alkenes are unsaturated: that is they contain fewer hydrogen atoms than the alkanes. |