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
Add the trees to their new containers but leave about 2 inches of free space at the top to catch and direct water down through the root systems.
—
Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2026
That bill was watered down, however, and eventually got shoehorned into the one that passed Friday.
—Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 7 Mar. 2026
Many have complained that having two divisions and two state champions for each classification waters down the playoffs and provides easier paths to the state championship game.
—Greg Riddle, Dallas Morning News, 5 Mar. 2026
But it was watered down significantly since it was introduced.
—Hayleigh Colombo, IndyStar, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for water down
Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2026
That bill was watered down, however, and eventually got shoehorned into the one that passed Friday.
—Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 7 Mar. 2026
Many have complained that having two divisions and two state champions for each classification waters down the playoffs and provides easier paths to the state championship game.
—Greg Riddle, Dallas Morning News, 5 Mar. 2026
But it was watered down significantly since it was introduced.
—Hayleigh Colombo, IndyStar, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for water down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for water down
Verb
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However, radiation would dilute the fastest, meaning its energy density drops faster than the other components.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
27 Mar. 2026
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As the cultural background of Sacramento’s Little Italy Historic District has become diluted in recent decades, one small business in the area is celebrating a major milestone and still honoring its Italian roots.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Nick Castellanos flied out to center with the bases loaded to end the eighth in his Padres debut.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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With the song in expert hands, Dave Meyer, the commercial’s director, asked to add other off-kilter elements, including a plotline about Nickelback and Megan stealing new Cheetos from a vault and loading them on to a giant truck that would also serve as their escape vehicle.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But as filming continued, Pidgeon appeared to dirty her butter blond with caramel and chocolate shades similar to Bessette-Kennedy’s, thanks to stylist Kari Hill.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
25 Feb. 2026
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With the help of your Instant Pot, spaghetti and meatballs come together in under an hour without dirtying multiple dishes.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Cavaliers led by as many as 36 points, but the Heat went on a third-quarter run to cut the deficit to 19 in the final seconds of the period.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
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Reduce the lot size, cut the square footage, and a house should cost less, supporters said.—
Mark Dee
March 28,
Idaho Statesman,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Decades of such spills and gas flares polluted and degraded the natural environment, while successive Nigerian governments failed to develop our economies.—
Noo Saro-Wiwa,
The Dial,
24 Mar. 2026
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Following the legal order to stop polluting, the state issued DTE four more air quality violations.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The second is a 100-day sludge line that will poison the reserves oil-hungry nations are racing to drain.—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
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But would someone go so far as to poison a tree to keep the view open?—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Earth’s sun is infected with a mysterious phenomena conjured by Weir called a Petrova line, a trail of alien cells called astrophage that are slowly consuming the fiery orb.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
22 Mar. 2026
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And by March 16, two previously clean packages with roughly 135,000 monthly downloads had been infected.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Water down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/water%20down. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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