Empapan

Empapan is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Spanish verb empapar, which means to soak or saturate something with liquid. The term can refer to physically wetting an object, such as a cloth or sponge absorbing water, or to saturating something with non-liquid content, such as information or emotion.

Empapar is a regular -ar verb. In present indicative, the forms are: yo empapo, tú empapas, él/ella/usted empapa, nosotros empapamos, vosotros empapáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes empapan. The preterite is: yo empapé, tú empapaste, él/ella/usted empapó, nosotros empapamos, vosotros empapasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes empaparon. The past participle is empapado, and the gerund is empapando. The reflexive form is empaparse, used when the subject itself becomes soaked.

Typical usage examples include: La esponja empapa la tela con agua. Después de la lluvia, la acera quedó empapada. Figuratively, se dice que un informe está empapado de datos o que una historia está empapada de emoción, meaning it is saturated with information or emotion.

Related terms include mojar and remojar, which can convey similar notions of wetting, though with different nuances. Empapar also conveys a sense of thoroughness or completeness when describing saturation, whether literal or figurative.