as in to dilute
to alter (something) for the worse with the addition of foreign or lower-grade substances
watered down the cocktails while jacking up their prices
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of water down
Los Angeles Fire Chief Jaime Moore admitted last week that his department’s after-action report on the Palisades fire was watered down to shield top brass from scrutiny.
—
Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Rinse it with clean water and dump the dirty water down the toilet—not the sink.
—Cody Godwin, USA Today, 11 Jan. 2026
Tech companies are poised for a big win if Europe waters down its digital regulations overhaul and makes compliance voluntary.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
This week, operators at Oroville Dam, the tallest dam in the United States, which holds back California’s second-largest reservoir, opened the spillway gates and began releasing billions of gallons of water down the massive concrete spillway into the Feather River below.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for water down
Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Rinse it with clean water and dump the dirty water down the toilet—not the sink.
—Cody Godwin, USA Today, 11 Jan. 2026
Tech companies are poised for a big win if Europe waters down its digital regulations overhaul and makes compliance voluntary.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
This week, operators at Oroville Dam, the tallest dam in the United States, which holds back California’s second-largest reservoir, opened the spillway gates and began releasing billions of gallons of water down the massive concrete spillway into the Feather River below.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for water down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for water down
Verb
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Some folks who were moving a little slow, some folks wanted to dilute the Canadiana or the Big C Canadian of it.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
31 Jan. 2026
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In his decision, Pearlman determined that the current 11th district lines dilute the ability of minority voters to have a meaningful impact in electing a member of Congress.—
Jeffrey M. Wice,
New York Daily News,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Ballots from Georgia's 2020 election are loaded by the FBI onto trucks at the Fulton County Election Hub on Wednesday.—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
29 Jan. 2026
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Once freed from the garbage, she was loaded onto a stretcher and brought to the aquarium.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The adventurous actress dirties up her frock and face to play the village pariah, who reeks of fish and would be no man’s idea of a suitable wife, except perhaps the one-eyed bum who sleeps in the town square.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
26 Jan. 2026
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When stormwater dirtied by road runoff, failing septic tanks and fertilizer sullied crystal-clear rivers and lakes, and nobody cared.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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With the benefit of hindsight, analysts and investors have blamed much of Kraft Heinz’s downward spiral on the brutal cost-cutting strategy imposed after the merger.—
Amelia Lucas,
CNBC,
31 Jan. 2026
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Beijing has spent decades growing its trade ties and bankrolling projects in the region, to boost transportation links and cut energy costs – cementing its own influence along the way.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Public spaces are routinely polluted by blaring music packed with profanity and racial slurs, and no one thinks twice about it.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
31 Jan. 2026
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Due to these conditions, the region is highly reliant on expensive and polluting diesel fuel transported by truck, plane, or barge.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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To an extent Amorim was handed a chalice which has felt forever poisoned.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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Each bloom produces exponentially growing waves of cyanotoxins that can poison and even kill nearby aquatic organisms.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Poor Gamay started out with a bad rap because in the 14th century it was thought that wines made from Gamay grapes infected people with serious diseases and in 1395 Philip II duke of Burgundy decreed that all Gamay vines should be destroyed.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
29 Jan. 2026
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The virus spreads through the air and by direct contact with someone who is infected.—
City News Service,
Oc Register,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Water down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/water%20down. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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