as in adulterated
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as in diluted
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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Recent Examples of watered-down
Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 25 Jan. 2026
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
But, faced with intense backlash from cities and law enforcement agencies, the legislator watered down her bill.
—Calmatters, Mercury News, 29 Dec. 2025
Kennedy made a panoply of promises but, so far, has watered down or failed to achieved most of them.
—Isabella Cueto, STAT, 29 Dec. 2025
The measure has since been watered down and now requires children between the ages of 8 to 16, starting in 2027, to pass a five-step test to be considered properly restrained by a seat belt.
—Calmatters, Oc Register, 16 Oct. 2025
This is proof that a novel doesn’t need to be watered down in its style or ideas in order to hold a reader’s attention.
—Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2025
Critics of 243 argued it was watered down significantly after industry input.
—Kate Wolffe
october 13, Sacbee.com, 13 Oct. 2025
That appeared to work out once again with his threats to China over rare earth exports later watered down online, Woods said.
—Alex Harring,sarah Min, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
In the decades since, silencing of even that watered-down (if in some ways more accurate) term has been linked to fossil fuel companies suppressing science to boost profits.
—Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
With Parsons, Green Bay’s defense got watered down.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 25 Jan. 2026
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
But, faced with intense backlash from cities and law enforcement agencies, the legislator watered down her bill.
—Calmatters, Mercury News, 29 Dec. 2025
Kennedy made a panoply of promises but, so far, has watered down or failed to achieved most of them.
—Isabella Cueto, STAT, 29 Dec. 2025
The measure has since been watered down and now requires children between the ages of 8 to 16, starting in 2027, to pass a five-step test to be considered properly restrained by a seat belt.
—Calmatters, Oc Register, 16 Oct. 2025
This is proof that a novel doesn’t need to be watered down in its style or ideas in order to hold a reader’s attention.
—Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2025
Critics of 243 argued it was watered down significantly after industry input.
—Kate Wolffe
october 13, Sacbee.com, 13 Oct. 2025
That appeared to work out once again with his threats to China over rare earth exports later watered down online, Woods said.
—Alex Harring,sarah Min, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for watered-down
Adjective
-
The company in 2020 pleaded guilty to distributing adulterated ice-cream products and agreed to pay a fine over the outbreak.—
Dylan Tokar,
WSJ,
2 Feb. 2023
-
And while most of those overdoses involved the illicit synthetic opioid fentanyl, experts say that an adulterated and contaminated drug supply is also leading to deaths.—
Nadia Kounang,
CNN,
17 Mar. 2022
Verb
-
With enough snow and sleet, the salt is diluted and cannot inhibit freezing.—
Julia James,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Feb. 2026
-
While vinegar and lemon juice work, they should be diluted with water before being used to treat hard water stains.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Every weekend, cars loaded up with groceries and goodies at Jacksonville's Sam’s Club and Costco stores zip out of the parking lot and down the street.—
Alexandria Mansfield,
Florida Times-Union,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Johnson told the outlet that firefighters and Amazon workers worked together to clean up before the drone was loaded into a truck.—
Amaris Encinas,
USA Today,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Those infected in South Carolina who haven’t yet developed encephalitis may yet do so.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
5 Feb. 2026
-
How do you get infected with it?—
Wendy Wisner,
Parents,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
More recently, the mayor spoke out against the county’s plan to cut $200 million in homeless services.—
David Zahniser,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Local reports said Ukrainian missiles hit a power plant and an electrical substation, cutting power to parts of the city.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Watered-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watered-down. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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