water down
verb
watered down; watering down; waters down
: to reduce or temper the force or effectiveness of
watered down the plan
Synonyms
Examples of water down in a Sentence
watered down the cocktails while jacking up their prices
Recent Examples on the Web
While Nix is a good point and shoot QB with accuracy to the short areas of the field, a lot of that Oregon offense was watered down and his responses under pressure left a lot to be lacking.
—
Joe Nguyen, The Denver Post, 25 Apr. 2024
But even before the bill was drafted in November, lobbyists from the politically powerful real estate and agriculture industries successfully watered down the fledgling bill and derailed it.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 12 Apr. 2024
But behind the scenes, the department is working to water down a bill that would do just that, according to one of the bill’s sponsors and others working on the legislation.
—Paige Pfleger, ProPublica, 19 Mar. 2024
But in reality, lawyers have an incentive to recover the largest amount of money in the shortest amount of time, which could pressure them to water down settlements and compromise on punitive measures, Dr. Nolette said.
—Shalina Chatlani, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Civil rights leaders and activists say Project 2025 is the work of a small minority of vocal conservatives who are trying to roll back civil rights laws and water down safeguards against racial discrimination.
—USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2024
Critics have meanwhile accused the nonprofit of promoting harmful talking points on climate change and LGBTQ+ issues, along with watering down lessons that might cast America in a negative light.
—Nick Sullivan, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2024
The pressures to water down or delay the SEC's climate disclosure rules endanger U.S. companies' position in this transition.
—Peter Vanham, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2024
The European Union and Britain plan to ban the sale of new combustion vehicles in favor of electric ones, but the move is stumbling and some experts believe the only sensible solution is to water down the edict by giving free rein to hybrids.
—Neil Winton, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Joe Nguyen, The Denver Post, 25 Apr. 2024
But even before the bill was drafted in November, lobbyists from the politically powerful real estate and agriculture industries successfully watered down the fledgling bill and derailed it.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 12 Apr. 2024
But behind the scenes, the department is working to water down a bill that would do just that, according to one of the bill’s sponsors and others working on the legislation.
—Paige Pfleger, ProPublica, 19 Mar. 2024
But in reality, lawyers have an incentive to recover the largest amount of money in the shortest amount of time, which could pressure them to water down settlements and compromise on punitive measures, Dr. Nolette said.
—Shalina Chatlani, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Civil rights leaders and activists say Project 2025 is the work of a small minority of vocal conservatives who are trying to roll back civil rights laws and water down safeguards against racial discrimination.
—USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2024
Critics have meanwhile accused the nonprofit of promoting harmful talking points on climate change and LGBTQ+ issues, along with watering down lessons that might cast America in a negative light.
—Nick Sullivan, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2024
The pressures to water down or delay the SEC's climate disclosure rules endanger U.S. companies' position in this transition.
—Peter Vanham, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2024
The European Union and Britain plan to ban the sale of new combustion vehicles in favor of electric ones, but the move is stumbling and some experts believe the only sensible solution is to water down the edict by giving free rein to hybrids.
—Neil Winton, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'water down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near water down
Cite this Entry
“Water down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/water%20down. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
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