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 After receiving considerable pushback from banking sector executives, however, regulators watered down the proposal to a 9% increase in capital levels, according to Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr. Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 25 Sep. 2024 The feature was allegedly watered down following complaints from multiple publishing and advertising industry trade groups. Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 18 Sep. 2024 But as my colleague Hayley Smith reports, the bill that made it to Newsom’s desk was watered down, requiring only that regulators reevaluate the herbicide by Jan. 1, 2029, and determine what, if anything, to do about it. Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2024 Federal rule-making through expert organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency, too, has been watered down by the Supreme Court. Izzie Ramirez, Vox, 9 Sep. 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 12 Oct. 2024.

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