water down

verb

watered down; watering down; waters down

transitive verb

: to reduce or temper the force or effectiveness of
watered down the plan
watered-down adjective

Examples of water down in a Sentence

watered down the cocktails while jacking up their prices
Recent Examples on the Web Musk’s role in reshaping Twitter into X — turning it from the world’s foremost social media platform for real-time news into a hotbed of conspiracy theories and misinformation, in part by axing its trust and safety teams and watering down its content policies, has been well-documented. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2024 Her extreme money-saving tactics included watering down juice for herself and the kids, counting out the pieces of cereal the kids could eat and rationing toilet paper usage for the family. Athena Sobhan, People.com, 15 Oct. 2024 It’s just spread out over too many episodes, its tension watered down by the length. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 10 Oct. 2024 That means not watering down criminal laws like some have proposed. Jonathan Horwitz, Orange County Register, 4 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for water down 

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

Word History

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of water down was in 1811

Dictionary Entries Near water down

Cite this Entry

“Water down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/water%20down. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on water down

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