soak 1 of 2

soak

2 of 2

verb

1
2
as in to gouge
to charge (someone) too much for goods or services a merchant who soaks the tourists every summer

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
4
as in to drink
to partake excessively of alcoholic beverages depressed about his love life, he repaired to a bar to soak

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word soak different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of soak are drench, impregnate, saturate, and steep. While all these words mean "to permeate or be permeated with a liquid," soak implies usually prolonged immersion as for softening or cleansing.

soak the garment in soapy water

When might drench be a better fit than soak?

In some situations, the words drench and soak are roughly equivalent. However, drench implies a thorough wetting by something that pours down or is poured.

clothes drenched by a cloudburst

Where would impregnate be a reasonable alternative to soak?

The words impregnate and soak can be used in similar contexts, but impregnate implies a thorough interpenetration of one thing by another.

a cake strongly impregnated with brandy

When could saturate be used to replace soak?

The synonyms saturate and soak are sometimes interchangeable, but saturate implies a resulting effect of complete absorption until no more liquid can be held.

a saturated sponge

When can steep be used instead of soak?

While in some cases nearly identical to soak, steep suggests either the extraction of an essence (as of tea leaves) by the liquid or the imparting of a quality (such as a color) to the thing immersed.

steep the tea for five minutes

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 soak
Noun
There’s also a deep roll-top bath backed by emerald tiles for post-amble soaks overlooking the garden and Maiden Bradley rooftops. Chloe Frost-Smith, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2025 Amara suggests a soak using apple cider vinegar and essential oils—peppermint, eucalyptus, and lime—to dissolve buildup. Larry Stansbury, Essence, 23 Sep. 2025
Verb
There’s no lawn to be smothered by two feet of piled up, soaking wet winter leaves. Paul Cappiello, Louisville Courier Journal, 17 Oct. 2025 To hand-wash microfiber cloths, soak them in a sink of cool water for 15 minutes and scrub by hand. Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for soak
Recent Examples of Synonyms for soak
Noun
  • His mother was a gregarious Little League Baseball booster and history buff, but also an alcoholic living in the balance.
    NPR, NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Their mother began a relationship with a swaggering alcoholic, their future stepfather, who mocked Scott for being soft.
    Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker has asked Tarrant County faith leaders to come to City Council meetings and saturate them in prayer.
    Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Oct. 2025
  • For hardened drops, saturate a cotton ball and place it on the drop for several minutes before wiping away.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • At least the climactic pandemonium has some of that old REC intensity; Plaza dynamically orchestrates the violence, dazzling the eyes of his audience one minute, gouging the eyes of his characters the next.
    A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Ella’s son is now 7 and sometimes traipses downstairs to gouge his grandparents’ cereal collection.
    Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • To help keep leaves, whole or chopped, in place during high winds or flooding rains, wet them down with a hose.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025
  • But the comedy is absolutely something that wets my beak, I'm drawn to it.
    H. Alan Scott, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Kevin Federline claims that Britney Spears drank while pregnant and did cocaine while breastfeeding in new excerpts from the former dancer’s upcoming memoir, published in several news outlets.
    Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Follow the flickering jack-o-lanterns to The Meadow for games, music and seasonal food and drink around the firepits.
    John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • His inability to make hard decisions or abstain from becoming a maudlin, clingy drunk had transformed me from his girlfriend and lover into his mother and disciplinarian.
    Julia Ioffe, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Stephen Geer pleaded guilty Monday to vehicular homicide while driving under the influence and vehicular assault for a drunk-driving crash last November that killed a Golden police officer and injured three other people, according to the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
    Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Amber Smith and her husband, Granger Smith, lived every parent’s worst nightmare in 2019 when their 3-year-old son, River, drowned in the family’s backyard pool.
    Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The couple had three children, the eldest of whom — Rupert — drowned off the West African coast in 1986.
    Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Joey Ortiz stung a groundball to Muncy’s left.
    Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
  • But for Hovland, the lingering frustration of missing Sunday singles and watching Harris English sit out for no fault of his own still stings.
    Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Soak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/soak. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

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