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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for water down
Verb
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Fill the glass with ice, and repeat with the other glass. 3: Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, stir together the Earl Grey simple syrup, lime juice and smoked paprika until thoroughly chilled and diluted, about 15 seconds.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 July 2025 -
Such critics are concerned that our approach might dilute the sense of urgency necessary and undermine public messaging.—
Francesco Rubino,
Time,
9 July 2025
Verb
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Garbage trucks will arrive to pick up trash when bins reach fully loaded.—
Jeffrey Steele,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
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Laughs are loading for this year’s New York Comedy Festival.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
14 July 2025
Verb
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Some were prosthetic buttocks, but others were people’s own buttocks, but in various states, like dirtied down and with partial covering.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
1 July 2025
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Crow-Armstrong has dirtied up the White Sox in six of those games, batting .458 with eight RBIs and a homer.—
Kalen Lumpkins,
Chicago Tribune,
27 June 2025
Verb
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The National Endowment for the Humanities cut the grant this spring.—
Kelly Meyerhofer,
jsonline.com,
22 July 2025
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The Oak Ridge Boys, Reba McEntire, Jeannie C. Riley, Connie Smith and the duo of Charlie Louvin and Melba Montgomery were among the acts who cut her songs.—
Marcus K. Dowling,
The Tennessean,
22 July 2025
Verb
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If contaminated floodwater is swallowed, or pollutes drinking water, this can lead to gastrointestinal illnesses such as stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.—
ByMary Kekatos,
ABC News,
11 July 2025
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For decades, biologists have studied how cities affect wildlife by altering food supplies, fragmenting habitats and polluting the environment.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 July 2025
Verb
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Silverstein poisons her argument, and thus grossly diminishes it, by introducing these political considerations that have nothing to do with antisemitism.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 July 2025
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The algae have poisoned more than 4,500 square kilometers (1,737 square miles) of the state’s waters – an area larger than Rhode Island – littering beaches with carcasses and ravaging an area known for its diversity.—
Lex Harvey,
CNN Money,
26 July 2025
Verb
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On July 22, the hospital confirmed the patient died from the infection A child in South Carolina has died after being infected with a rare brain-eating amoeba, state health officials confirmed.—
Vanessa Etienne,
People.com,
23 July 2025
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In a study published July 22 in Nature Communications, researchers report that living through the pandemic aged our brains—whether or not you were infected with COVID-19.—
Alice Park,
Time,
22 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Water down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/water%20down. Accessed 31 Jul. 2025.
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