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drench

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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

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Words With London Origins

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

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