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
-
Use a balanced houseplant fertilizer, such as 20-20-20, that’s diluted to quarter strength.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
31 Jan. 2026
-
In Williams, plaintiffs alleged that those district lines diluted minority voting strength in violation of the state constitutional requirement to protect minority voters in communities where minority voters can’t elect their preferred candidates when voting is highly polarized.—
Jeffrey M. Wice,
New York Daily News,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Nine days after Butler’s injury, Curry finished his postgame workouts following a win over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, loaded a takeout plate of food to eat on the Warriors’ bus and prepared for the flight home from an emotionally draining four-game road trip.—
Nick Friedell,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The five of them pushed the furniture out of the living room, loaded in their gear, and settled in for a week of living together while Walla recorded their songs to tape.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The two health workers infected in India’s eastern state of West Bengal in late December are being treated in hospital, local authorities have said.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Watered-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watered-down. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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