watered-down 1 of 2

watered down

2 of 2

verb

past tense of water down

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 watered-down
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
But consumer advocates watch with dismay as some of those ideas are gutted or watered down. Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 21 June 2026 The bill was watered down after its sponsors, under pressure from the gambling companies and their lobbyists, struck a provision that would have banned all proposition bets. Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 18 June 2026 Three federal health employees later told me political appointees had watered down the original language. CNN Money, 14 June 2026 Three federal health employees later told me political appointees had watered down the original language. Annie Waldman, ProPublica, 9 June 2026 By then, his sentence got watered down by Epstein’s lawyers. Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026 Many watered down those authorities. Rob Stein, NPR, 4 June 2026 Her looks were watered down and her ratios have proven unlovely. Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026 The concierge idea is being watered down in favor of dealerships, perhaps shared with Hyundai and Kia. Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026
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
  • By the time Emmet Sheehan took the mound, the smell had diluted, and the sunshine broke through the haze.
    Liana Handler, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2026
  • If less current is flowing, the system can reduce the flow so the product does not become too diluted.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 21 June 2026
Verb
  • After failing to score with the bases loaded in the third, the Angels pulled away with four runs in the sixth.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2026
  • The threat to state insurance supervision is therefore loaded but not fired, and anyone telling you the states have already lost, or already won, is getting ahead of the facts.
    Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026
Verb
  • The news comes as Lackland Air Force Base in Texas — home to the Air Force's Basic Military Training program — grapples with a flu outbreak that has infected 275 people in recent weeks, a congressional staffer with knowledge of the matter told CBS News.
    Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 25 June 2026
  • Hall was infected in the 2000s and diagnosed in 2006, according to the Bay Area Lyme Foundation.
    Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 25 June 2026
Verb
  • Kirkmeyer has campaigned on affordability and safety issues, Bottoms is pushing for a redo of the state's education system among other things and Marx wants to cut regulations and lower the cost of living.
    Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 27 June 2026
  • Terrell Carstens, a 25-year resident of Brookhaven, said she is frustrated the city made little effort to find places to cut costs instead of raising the rate.
    Reed Williams, AJC.com, 27 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Watered-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watered-down. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.

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