1
as in to moisten
to make or become slightly or moderately wet
dampen a paper towel with water and use it to clean up the mess
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to reduce
to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling
the oppressive heat dampened our spirits
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to undermine
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality
nothing could dampen their enthusiasm
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dampen
Monday night’s World Cup showdown between Norway and Senegal at MetLife Stadium could be dampened and possibly delayed by heavy rain and thunderstorms.
—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
22 June 2026
Fisher’s enthusiasm never seemed to be dampened.
—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
21 June 2026
Leadership Starts With Conviction In SpaceX's early years, three consecutive rocket failures and the near-bankruptcy by late 2008 would have dampened the spirits of most leaders and their teams.
—
Julian Hayes Ii,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
Be sure to spritz enough cleaner to dampen the cloth well.
—
Kate Van Pelt,
The Spruce,
20 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for dampen
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
22 June 2026
Fisher’s enthusiasm never seemed to be dampened.
—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
21 June 2026
Leadership Starts With Conviction In SpaceX's early years, three consecutive rocket failures and the near-bankruptcy by late 2008 would have dampened the spirits of most leaders and their teams.
—
Julian Hayes Ii,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
Be sure to spritz enough cleaner to dampen the cloth well.
—
Kate Van Pelt,
The Spruce,
20 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for dampen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dampen
Verb
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Fan and towels There are dozens of cooling products soccer lovers can use to stay cool, such as portable fans and hand towels that can be moistened with water.
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Blinking encourages tears that moisten your eyes.
Verb
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New flyover ramps connecting to I-95 would also be built, while sound barriers would be installed along both sides of the corridor to help reduce traffic noise for nearby residents.
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The rich treatment balances strengthening plant proteins with nourishing rosehip and sweet almond oils to reduce breakage and replenish moisture.
Verb
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Kirk had disappeared from their feeds, and Erika Kirk had gone viral for the wrong reasons—taking the stage at her husband’s memorial service amid pyrotechnics and attempting her own campus tour, undermining her image as a Christian trad wife whose priorities were her family and her home.
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Over his 18-year tenure at the Fed, Greenspan embodied the omnipotent technocrat — a legacy critics say was fatally undermined by his failure to spot the 2008 housing bubble.
Verb
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Thick Groundcover Mosquitoes love to hide in dark, damp spots.
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The car’s otherworldly handling begins there and is further enhanced by McLaren’s adaptive damping system on its double-wishbone independent suspension.
Verb
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The weight that was added to the structure over its lifetime diminished the building’s margins against failure, the report said.
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Louden points out that sometimes an English word strengthens and diversifies the Pennsylvania Dutch lexicon rather than diminishes it.
Verb
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Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images BEIJING — China’s consumer spending slowdown persisted in June, with growth during one of the country’s largest online shopping festivals weakening sharply from a year earlier.
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All three of those protagonists have been weakened in their roles by what has gone on.
Verb
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From hand pumps in British pubs to wet foam in Czech cafes, beer is poured a variety of ways throughout the world and in various glassware.
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Irrigation should be applied at the base of the plant at the soil line to avoid wetting the blooms.
Verb
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Freezes caused by large cold fronts pushing into the state from arctic regions can ice over and deaden fruitful citrus trees.
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Exposing the dental pulp and cleaning out the cavity’s contents also would have deadened the nerves and blood vessels there, leading to pain relief, Zubova said.
Cite this Entry
“Dampen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dampen. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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