Definition of WATER DOWN

Examples of water down in a Sentence

watered down the cocktails while jacking up their prices

Recent Examples on the Web

And aldermen watered down a 2016 ordinance to give Ferguson greater reach into their business. — John Byrne, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says City Council must support her ethics plan: 'It's a new day'," 12 June 2019 The Big 12 looks watered down across the board, and there’s an obvious opportunity for the Bears to capitalize. — Jeremy Woo, SI.com, "Top 25 Reset: How Draft Decisions Changed Our 2019-20 Preseason Rankings," 5 June 2019 Gowdy accused Comey of watering down his initial statement on the investigation's findings and making other decisions on his own. — Brooke Singman, Fox News, "Gowdy scorches Comey in blistering opening statement at IG hearing," 19 June 2018 Any effort by the EU to water down the backstop would mean abandoning the Irish government and unraveling a central pillar of the EU negotiating strategy with Britain. — Laurence Norman, WSJ, "U.K. Parliament’s Rejection of Brexit Deal Puts European Union in a Bind," 16 Jan. 2019 This shows that recent Federal Circuit decisions watering down Alice (like Berkheimer v. HP) are important. — Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, "Notorious patent enforcement entity values its entire portfolio at $2, folds," 1 Nov. 2018 Image The Trump administration’s aggressive attempts to water down an international resolution supporting breast-feeding go against decades of advice by most medical organizations and public health experts. — Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times, "Trump Stance on Breast-Feeding and Formula Criticized by Medical Experts," 9 July 2018 Each reform was mild, often watered down in the face of protests, but their cumulative effect means that the French labor market is now relatively flexible. — Pascal-emmanuel Gobry, WSJ, "The Failure of the French Elite," 22 Feb. 2019 After facing resistance from business operators and lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, however, the ministry watered down the plan. — Daniel Hurst, NBC News, "Tokyo Games looming, Japan faces pressure to douse smoking," 4 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'water down.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.