WATERING DOWN Synonyms: 67 Similar and Opposite Words

watering down

verb

present participle of water down

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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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of watering down Politically, this strategy of watering down her own initiatives to avoid alienating interest groups might have worked, if not for the fires. —

Marc Novicoff, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026 The challenge is to keep the language simple without watering down the issue. —

Aisha Nyandoro, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026 Dress the salad right before serving to prevent the melon and cucumbers from watering down the vinaigrette. —

Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 23 May 2026 But watering down safe Republican seats in a tough year for the incumbent party, could backfire, some have predicted. —

Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2026 Name, image and likeness money is pulling guys with borderline first-round grades back to school, which is watering down the top of each class. —

Nick Baumgardner, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026 Trump blinked, pausing and watering down many of those tariffs in response to extreme market pressure. —

Matt Egan, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026 On Wednesday, The Times reported that Bass was directly involved in watering down the city’s after-action report on the fire, citing unnamed sources. —

David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026 States that are already watering down or even eliminating vaccine requirements may align with the administration’s decision to neglect and hide the data, contributing to a growing gap between states on vaccine policy, further fragmenting and politicizing decisions that should be based on science. —

Jill Rosenthal, STAT, 14 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for watering down

Verb

The Supreme Court asked the lower court to look at its recent ruling in Louisiana, which weakened the Voting Rights Act — a law that previously placed sharp limits on states’ diluting the power of minority voters.

— Kaylah Jackson, NBC news, 3 June 2026
In his letter, Markey said using surplus plutonium to produce energy would be significantly more expensive than diluting and disposing of it — the method the federal government was previously using to deal with the waste.

— Ella Nilsen, CNN Money, 2 June 2026