damping

verb

present participle of damp
1
as in undermining
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality refused to let the setbacks damp his drive for success

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wetting
to make or become slightly or moderately wet damp the shirt slightly before ironing it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in reducing
to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling nothing seemed to damp the unwelcome attentions of her suitor

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of damping The preset low-speed compression and rebound damping settings can be fine-tuned further with twelve clicks of compression adjustment and sixteen clicks of rebound adjustment. — Andrew P. Collins, The Drive, 23 Sep. 2026 Bimota retunes the Balance Free Fork with a low spring rate, firmer compression damping, and softer rebound, while the rear damper can adjust up to 30 millimeters with an eccentric bolt. — Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 21 Sep. 2026 The resulting structures can gain useful properties including vibration damping or thermal regulation, but filling the external cells removes the very openness that made the lattice interesting in the first place. — New Atlas, 20 Sep. 2026 Steering response is quick, precise and abetted by standard rear-axle steering and adaptive damping that cushions bumps and keeps the car level and stable in quick maneuvers. — Mark Phelan, Freep.com, 25 Aug. 2026 Armed with this insight, Cohen then needed to find a way to create just the right version of this flexible object to produce a proper damping function. — Shalma Wegsman, Quanta Magazine, 12 Aug. 2026 This may predispose plants to problems like root rot and damping off disease. — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Aug. 2026 There’s a chance, experts noted, that this year’s El Niño could bring more fall rain, damping the Santa Ana winds’s ability to fuel fast-moving fires. — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2026 The resulting cavities are filled with dedicated acoustic damping material to control unwanted internal reflections. — Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for damping
  1. undermining
  2. wetting
  3. reducing
  4. weakening
  5. dampening
  6. deadening
  7. draining
  8. moistening
Verb
  • Hamas has denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal and accuses Israel of undermining the Gaza peace deal.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Here’s how to make that long game work in your favor—and how to recognize and quit all of the habits that might be undermining your skin along the way.
    — Elizabeth Siegel, Allure, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of undermining
Verb
  • Havenith said deliberately wetting clothing can provide evaporative cooling, including for older adults who may not sweat as effectively.
    — Aya Diab, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • For best results, water deeply at the base of the plant, allowing moisture to soak into the root zone rather than wetting the foliage, says Kelly Funk, president and CEO of Jackson & Perkins.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of wetting
Verb
  • The answer may be different if the goal is reducing overall homelessness, helping people into the job market, spending as little taxpayer money as possible, improving health outcomes — or just keeping people alive.
    — Laura Ungar, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Like morphine and fentanyl, cychlorphine locks onto the brain’s mu-opioid receptors, reducing pain and increasing euphoria.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of reducing
Verb
  • Deterioration is exacerbated if water reaches the steel rebar, corroding from inside the concrete mass and thereby weakening the integrity of the wall.
    — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Those states’ experiences show that weakening graduation requirements reduces accountability for schools.
    — Neetu Arnold, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of weakening
Verb
  • As a result, this yield spike is driving mortgage rates higher, dampening housing demand among homebuyers.
    — , CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
  • But El Niño can disrupt the winds, dampening upwelling and reducing the food supply.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of dampening
Verb
  • Inside the cabin, extensive additional sound deadening in the doors, trunk and wheel arches means phone calls and passenger conversations are entirely effortless at highway speeds.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Each presents a group portrait of a handful of disaffected British suburbanites—husbands who resent their deadening jobs, toddlers who whine and interrupt, and, above all, hassled wives subsumed by a crush of household obligations.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of deadening
Verb
  • This severe segmentation can be emotionally draining and erodes commitment to the organization.
    — Catherine Bell, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Teams devised an unprecedented bit of spaceship surgery to replace the valve without draining the propellant and disassembling the spacecraft, steps that would have triggered a much longer delay.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of draining
Verb
  • The next several days will see a cooling and moistening trend in both the Bay Area and Central Coast; temperatures are expected to be well below seasonal averages.
    — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • For this, Langelo recommends moistening the soil to make the weeds easier to pull.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 26 Apr. 2026
Definition of moistening

Browse Nearby Words

dampers
damping
dampish
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Cite this Entry

“Damping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/damping. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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