drench

1 of 2

verb

drenched; drenching; drenches

transitive verb

1
: to wet thoroughly (as by soaking or immersing in liquid)
2
: to soak or cover thoroughly with liquid that falls or is precipitated
3
: to fill or cover completely as if by soaking or precipitation
was drenched in furs and diamondsRichard Brautigan
4
a
: to administer a drench to (an animal)
b
archaic : to force to drink
drencher noun

drench

2 of 2

noun

1
: a poisonous or medicinal drink
specifically : a large dose of medicine mixed with liquid and put down the throat of an animal
2
a
: something that drenches
b
: a quantity sufficient to drench or saturate
Choose the Right Synonym for drench

soak, saturate, drench, steep, impregnate mean to permeate or be permeated with a liquid.

soak implies usually prolonged immersion as for softening or cleansing.

soak the garment in soapy water

saturate implies a resulting effect of complete absorption until no more liquid can be held.

a saturated sponge

drench implies a thorough wetting by something that pours down or is poured.

clothes drenched by a cloudburst

steep suggests either the extraction of an essence (as of tea leaves) by the liquid or the imparting of a quality (such as a color) to the thing immersed.

steep the tea for five minutes

impregnate implies a thorough interpenetration of one thing by another.

a cake strongly impregnated with brandy

Examples of drench in a Sentence

Verb we were drenched by the sudden rainstorm when using the carpet shampooer, wet but do not drench the carpet
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The latest storms have drenched Southern California early this week but are expected to largely bypass Arizona, where temperatures reached 82 degrees on Tuesday, the warmest day of the year so far. Caralin Nunes, The Arizona Republic, 21 Feb. 2024 Storms in early February drenched much of the state in historic rainfall, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of people, flooding neighborhoods and triggering mudslides. Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2024 At night, when darkness drenches this community, the twinkling colors are the only lights visible. Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024 By Thursday morning, several locations in Los Angeles County had been drenched with between 13 and 15 inches of rain over five days, according to the National Weather Service. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2024 Severe thunderstorms are possible across the Sacramento Valley as another atmospheric river storm drenches the region. Savanna Smith, Sacramento Bee, 19 Feb. 2024 While the coast is to be drenched with significant rainfall, higher elevations are forecasted to receive more snow. Elliana Hebert, CNN, 17 Feb. 2024 California Five days, up to 14 inches of rain: See the totals from a drenching few days in Southern California Feb. 8, 2024 Their instincts proved correct. Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2024 For any New Yorker, chicken and rice brings an image to mind of a mound of food drenched in white sauce. Emmett Lindner, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2024
Noun
Use this deep shade as an all-over wall color that makes a stylish statement, on kitchen cabinets paired with brass hardware for a modern look, or to color drench a room for a moody coziness. Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Sep. 2023 The easiest way is to apply a systemic insecticide as a soil drench. Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 27 Aug. 2023 For fire ants, apply beneficial nematodes and drench with one of the orange oil mound drench products or spinosad products. Howard Garrett, Dallas News, 28 June 2021 Just minutes from the magic, families can chill out at Surfside Waterpark and enjoy its 400-gallon drench bucket, slides, and an oversized 17-person hot tub. Carly Caramanna, Travel + Leisure, 7 May 2023 Water drench appropriately describes what these eye masks do to your under eyes. Cristina Montemayor, Men's Health, 28 Jan. 2023 The gooey grime changes and shifts throughout as precipitation and bombing fallout drench the settings in various sequences — to say nothing of the ghastly effects of war on the human body, depicted with unflinching detail and fidelity. Partner Content, Variety, 29 Dec. 2022 It’s the perfect wash to pop in your gym bag for cleansing after even the most drench-inducing workouts. Grooming Playbook, The Salt Lake Tribune, 30 Sep. 2022 Gone, of course, were the aerial rope tricks and getting drench while singing in a waterfall. Chris Willman, Variety, 1 May 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drench.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Old English drencan; akin to Old English drincan to drink

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4b

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of drench was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near drench

Cite this Entry

“Drench.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drench. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

drench

verb
ˈdrench
: to wet thoroughly

Medical Definition

drench

1 of 2 noun
: a poisonous or medicinal drink
specifically : a large dose of medicine mixed with liquid and put down the throat of an animal

drench

2 of 2 transitive verb
: to administer a drench to (an animal)

More from Merriam-Webster on drench

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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