water down
verb
watered down; watering down; waters down
: to reduce or temper the force or effectiveness of
watered down the plan
Examples of water down in a Sentence
watered down the cocktails while jacking up their prices
Recent Examples on the Web
Talk of overthrowing the regime has been dropped, and his goals for ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions watered down.
—
Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 23 Mar. 2026
But they've since been watered down.
—Mark Prussin, CBS News, 20 Mar. 2026
Some Republicans, however, have expressed caution about watering down districts heading into an election cycle that is historically bad for the party in the White House.
—Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 17 Mar. 2026
Midnight Mammoth last in a field of five that was watered down by the scratches of Pegasus World Cup winner Skippylongstocking and Grade 2 winner Westwood.
—Jay Posner, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for water down
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 23 Mar. 2026
But they've since been watered down.
—Mark Prussin, CBS News, 20 Mar. 2026
Some Republicans, however, have expressed caution about watering down districts heading into an election cycle that is historically bad for the party in the White House.
—Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 17 Mar. 2026
Midnight Mammoth last in a field of five that was watered down by the scratches of Pegasus World Cup winner Skippylongstocking and Grade 2 winner Westwood.
—Jay Posner, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for water down
Cite this Entry
“Water down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/water%20down. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
