Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

1

drench

play
noun \ˈdrench\

Definition of drench

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

  2. 2a :  something that drenchesb :  a quantity sufficient to drench or saturate

From the M-W Editors

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz
alt-594ab41a604d2
Trending: Kim and Kanye Might Have Hired a Surrogate Mother
alt-5931949575ca5
'All the Feels,' All the Time
decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Before 12th Century

First Known Use of drench

before 12th century

2

drench

verb

Definition of drench

  1. transitive verb

  2. 1a archaic :  to force to drinkb :  to administer a drench to (an animal)

  3. 2 :  to wet thoroughly (as by soaking or immersing in liquid)

  4. 3 :  to soak or cover thoroughly with liquid that falls or is precipitated

  5. 4 :  to fill or cover completely as if by soaking or precipitation was drenched in furs and diamonds — Richard Brautigan

drencher

noun

See drench defined for English-language learners

See drench defined for kids

Examples of drench in a Sentence

  1. we were drenched by the sudden rainstorm

  2. when using the carpet shampooer, wet but do not drench the carpet

Origin and Etymology of drench

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


First Known Use: before 12th century

drench Synonyms

Synonyms
bathe, bedraggle, douse (also dowse), wet, drown, soak, sodden, sop, souse, wash, water, waterlog, water-soak, wet down
Antonyms
dehydrate, desiccate, dry, parch, scorch, sear
Related Words
asperse, bedew, damp, dampen, drizzle, humidify, hydrate, mist, moisten, moisturize, shower, sprinkle; deluge, flood, hose (down), inundate, overflow; submerge, swamp; splash; impregnate, saturate, steep; flush, irrigate, lave, rinse, slosh, sluice; dip, duck, dunk; rehydrate, rewash, rewet
Near Antonyms
dewater, evaporate, freeze-dry; drip-dry, wring; dehumidify

Synonym Discussion of 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

DRENCH Defined for English Language Learners

drench

verb

Definition of drench for English Language Learners

  • : to make (someone or something) completely wet

DRENCH Defined for Kids

drench

play
verb \ˈdrench\

Definition of drench for Students

drenched

;

drenching

  1. :  to make completely wet We had pancakes drenched in syrup.

Medical Dictionary

1

drench

play
noun \ˈdrench\

Medical Definition of drench

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

2

drench

transitive verb

Medical Definition of drench

  1. :  to administer a drench to (an animal)

Learn More about drench

  1. See words that rhyme with drench Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for drench Spanish Central: Translation of drench Nglish: Translation of drench for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of drench for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up drench? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

WORD OF THE DAY

bilious

play

of or relating to bile

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. surrogate mother From TMZ to the dictionary.

  2. zealot A fanatical partisan

  3. stonewall to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive

  4. scurrilous Containing obscenities, abuse, or slander

  5. depose That word might not mean what you think it means.

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

drench

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

  • istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
  • Which is a synonym of garner?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Words at Play

alt-5931949575ca5
'All the Feels,' All the Time

Once more, with 'feels'

alt-59480e09b8844
A Pineapple Is An Apple (Kind Of)

Pineapple once had a different, more internationally common name.

alt-594938b88b98e
Read This to Get 'Smart'

A thinking person's guide

image879490827
Words From London

Essential words for Anglophiles

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

Take the quiz
alt-5941ad7527c3c
Yearbook Superlatives Quiz

Is that your picture under "Largest Vocabulary"?

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game
Examples: drench in a Sentence
Tip: Synonym Guide