water down

verb

Definition of water downnext
as in to dilute
to alter (something) for the worse with the addition of foreign or lower-grade substances watered down the cocktails while jacking up their prices

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for water down
  1. dilute
  2. load
  3. dirty
  4. cut
  5. pollute
  6. poison
  7. infect
Verb
  • Yet, this option could dilute control and raise concerns about costs, as well as possible conflicts of interest if private institutions influence operational policies.
    Alexandra Andhov, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
  • What to watch: Any revisions are anticipated to dilute the proposal further, while finalizing the rules will be dragged out longer — risking a slow death of the rules put forward last summer.
    Courtenay Brown, Axios, 4 Dec. 2024
Definition of dilute
Verb
  • Reading its annual report, I was reminded that, perhaps, TikTok’s algorithm has gotten too good at pointing people in the direction of sure-fire hits and less good at loading FYPs with videos people will find incredibly inventive or fascinating.
    Angela Watercutter, WIRED, 6 Dec. 2024
  • This situation bodes well for 2025 and 2026, both of which have loaded film slates.
    Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of load
Verb
  • Instead, Walz seems to have little to say about factory farming dirtying the state’s waterways.
    Kenny Torrella, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
  • Garments can be dirtied again by the elements if air-dried outside.
    Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 July 2024
Definition of dirty
Verb
  • Dylan cut his first album two months after Robert Shelton wrote about him in the New York Times.
    Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Now, his 2025 budget proposal calls for cutting even more police positions, training divisions and mental health resources for officers.
    Dylan Sharkey, Chicago Tribune, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of cut
Verb
  • This event came days after the United Nations failed to agree on a treaty in Busan, South Korea, limiting plastic waste polluting the planet.
    Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
  • More than 99% of Americans live under skies polluted by light.
    Lane Sainty, USA TODAY, 24 Nov. 2024
Definition of pollute
Verb
  • In March 2018, Ashley checked into a Florida hospital and alleged that Doug was abusive and poisoned her.
    Jessica Sager, People.com, 3 Dec. 2024
  • Ending lead poisoning Lead poisoning has, historically, been a major blind spot in the global health world.
    Dylan Matthews, Vox, 3 Dec. 2024
Definition of poison
Verb
  • Scientists' discovery that horses in Mongolia have been infected with bird flu—and that these infections were not accompanied by visible symptoms—has raised fears of the virus spreading undetected into other animals and even into humans.
    Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024
  • Despite their efforts, the animals were infected, making this the first time any animals at the zoo contracted the avian flu.
    Charna Flam, People.com, 13 Dec. 2024
Definition of infect
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near water down

watercrafts

water down

watered

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Water down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/water%20down. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on water down

Nglish: Translation of water down for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of water down for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

More Words with Remarkable Origins

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
confused man standing between two doors
One Word or Two? Take the Quiz! Some words just need a little space.