as in removing
to rid oneself of (a garment)
in those days a gentleman would douse his hat when going indoors
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also dowsing
1
as in extinguishing
to cause to cease burning
douse the campfire before leaving in the morning
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wetting
to make wet
the heavy rains thoroughly doused the tourists strolling the town streets
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in dipping
to sink or push (something) briefly into or as if into a liquid
douse the grapes in water to remove any grit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dousing
Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2026
McGill was convicted of murder after dousing a couple in gasoline and lighting them on fire in 2002.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 14 May 2026
After initially dousing the fire between the theater’s fourth and fifth floors, firefighters found additional pockets of flames between the fifth and eights floors, with the fire finally brought fully under control a little after noon, officials said.
—Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 4 May 2026
The clip sparked debate online, though additional footage suggested Jordan may have been brushing ice or liquid off the child following a celebratory dousing.
—Ryan Brennan
april 22, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2026
The film was shot on location in Italy, dousing the viewer in a delicious moving pageantry of pasta and focaccia sandwiches.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2026
Police accused Arianna Skye Foster, his 21-year-old girlfriend of spitting at a driver, dousing another with pepper spray and throwing rocks and pieces of brick at vehicles, according to documents.
—Ray Stern, AZCentral.com, 25 Mar. 2026
At Prabal Gurung’s fall-winter 2026 show, artists painted models’ lips a fiery red before dousing them in chunky glitter.
—Jessica Fields, Allure, 24 Mar. 2026
What's happening is the jet stream — which moves weather systems from west to east — is pretty much stuck as far westward as the storms dousing Hawaii, where people are seeing torrential rains and flooding, Masters and Gallina said.
—ABC News, 23 Mar. 2026
Verb
The Fire Authority initially responded to the incident Thursday afternoon by dousing the tank in water and issuing an evacuation order for surrounding streets that was lifted that evening.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2026
McGill was convicted of murder after dousing a couple in gasoline and lighting them on fire in 2002.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 14 May 2026
After initially dousing the fire between the theater’s fourth and fifth floors, firefighters found additional pockets of flames between the fifth and eights floors, with the fire finally brought fully under control a little after noon, officials said.
—Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 4 May 2026
The clip sparked debate online, though additional footage suggested Jordan may have been brushing ice or liquid off the child following a celebratory dousing.
—Ryan Brennan
april 22, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2026
The film was shot on location in Italy, dousing the viewer in a delicious moving pageantry of pasta and focaccia sandwiches.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2026
Police accused Arianna Skye Foster, his 21-year-old girlfriend of spitting at a driver, dousing another with pepper spray and throwing rocks and pieces of brick at vehicles, according to documents.
—Ray Stern, AZCentral.com, 25 Mar. 2026
At Prabal Gurung’s fall-winter 2026 show, artists painted models’ lips a fiery red before dousing them in chunky glitter.
—Jessica Fields, Allure, 24 Mar. 2026
What's happening is the jet stream — which moves weather systems from west to east — is pretty much stuck as far westward as the storms dousing Hawaii, where people are seeing torrential rains and flooding, Masters and Gallina said.
—ABC News, 23 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dousing
Verb
-
By removing the liquid filling stage entirely and accelerating the subsequent chemical formation and aging protocols, the production timeline for these steps is shortened by two-thirds.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
13 June 2026
-
Make 4- to 6-inch-long cuttings by sipping off the ends of the shoots and removing a few bottom leaves.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 June 2026
Verb
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The ensuing 11 pitches were all strikes to end the game, extinguishing the Dodgers’ hope and showing again how the Padres are doing this.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
19 May 2026
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The police department thanked the Westminster Fire Department for quickly extinguishing the flames.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
12 May 2026
Verb
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Irrigate at the base of plants to avoid wetting foliage, which can encourage plant diseases like black spot.—
Luke Miller,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 June 2026
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Avoid wetting foliage when watering plants or water in the morning if using overhead sprinklers to help minimize foliar disease.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Families are dipping into savings to maintain their spending, and more people are falling behind on their credit card bills.—
Christopher Rugaber,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
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Plenty of changes still require dipping into the central touchscreen, too, though a more widescreen-style horizontal aspect ratio with the main status bar moved to the left (closer to the driver’s hand) also helps here.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
9 June 2026
Verb
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Big surf from a previous swell contributed to a drowning Saturday off Dana Point and, on Wednesday afternoon, the search continued for a young girl swept off the sand Tuesday evening in Laguna Beach.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
11 June 2026
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Political experts contend that messages that seem contradictory to a candidate’s background, as well as drowning voters with incessant ads, can be jarring and off-putting to the electorate.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
Verb
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Zoh Amba spent their Kingsport, Tennessee adolescence diving into YouTube, immersing themselves in videos of jazz saxophonists like Albert Ayler and Charlie Parker.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
Pitchfork,
9 June 2026
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Venus and Jupiter align in Cancer in the part of your chart governing long journeys, higher learning, and international exploration, making the first two weeks especially ripe for immersing yourself in a new culture and simply having a wonderful time.—
Kirah Tabourn,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 May 2026
Verb
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While this would be a great thing under normal circumstances, the woman has broken two nice glasses and does a terrible job of washing everything — leaving food particles on the silverware and lipstick on coffee cups.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
12 June 2026
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As people express their grief, social obligations compel them to help prepare the deceased for burial, including touching and washing the body, as is traditional in the affected countries; visit the deceased’s family; and attend funerals.—
Katherine Marshall,
STAT,
12 June 2026
Verb
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With Uso taking one step closer toward another main event singles match, WWE fans are flooding YouTube and social media with negative reactions to Uso’s latest major singles victory.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
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The Yankees invited him to throw out a first pitch; the Orlando Magic gave him courtside seats and fans got wind of the effort and started flooding his social media with messages and pleas.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dousing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dousing. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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