as in diluting
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 watering down
Stop watering down your message to avoid offending anyone.
—
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for watering down
Verb
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Long-term vitality comes from widening the circle of decision-makers without diluting the core mission.—
Ken Polk,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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The true impact lies in the quiet slicing and dicing of communities, fracturing coalitions, diluting voices, and disenfranchising voters.—
Matt Klink,
Oc Register,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Instead of segregating different regions behind loading screens as with previous games, now your environment is a single seamless setting that feels more connected than ever.—
Griff Griffin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
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With Xavier Edwards and Agustin Ramirez on, Otto Lopez reached on a fielder’s choice, loading the bases with two out.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Barcelona’s decision was not a sporting one but based on cutting wages.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
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There’s people cutting sandwiches, putting the sandwiches right to the camera, squeezing the juices.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The technology ideally should be used for sectors that are difficult to decarbonize, such as cement production, aviation and agriculture, rather than to extend the life of polluting power plants or to prolong the use of oil and gas, Koberle said.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
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Stop polluting and give them stable, growing economies in which to be raised.—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Water is rapidly replacing ice along the coastal plain of southeastern Alaska, where glaciers are thinning and retreating, with meltwater forming lakes off of their fronts, NASA says.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
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Pruning, thinning fruit, and watering during dry spells are key to good fruit production.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That’s the best way to keep the flies from infecting the fruits.—
Nan Sterman,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Sep. 2025
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These facilities agreed to and completed full cleaning and disinfection procedures to prevent the bacteria from growing and infecting others.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Beyond the broader ecological catastrophes that await us, wildfires harm people with smoke that can travel hundreds of kilometers from the source fire, poisoning people with small particles and a portfolio of toxins.—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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In the mid-1890s, her former landlords Israel and Lovey Dunham died after sudden illnesses; Toppan later acknowledged poisoning them, according to Boston Magazine.—
Christina Coulter,
People.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Watering down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watering%20down. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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