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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Recent Examples of watering down But Reeves and Starmer faced criticism for some of their fiscal policies, such as increasing National Insurance — a kind of tax on employment — for businesses, and watering down welfare reforms to appease backbench lawmakers. — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 21 July 2026 Asking for sportsbook revenue while simultaneously watering down the product and coddling rule-breakers with minor-league rehab is a terrible look. — Geoff Clark Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 June 2026 These rules have already been subject to watering down proposals. — Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026 But the most basic reforms seem to require years of discussion and back-and-forth and watering down. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 17 June 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for watering down

Verb

The firm may gather assets while diluting productivity, increasing risk and pressuring unit economics.

— Satish Avhad, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
But aside from the economic benefits, there have been concerns about the league diluting its talent pool by getting too big, too fast.

— Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of diluting

Verb

So, when another milestone lands on the calendar—say, Nordstrom’s 125th Anniversary celebration—we’re more than happy to start loading up our carts.

— Madison San Miguel, Allure, 16 Sep. 2026
The Red Sox failed to score after loading the bases without a hit in the fifth.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of loading

Verb

On a September 2026 episode of Not Just Football With Cam Heyward, Rodgers offered a small nugget about how the wedding went down before cutting himself off.

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2026
The victim told police a handful of men had gotten together drinking and smoking while a tree cutting crew was in the neighborhood after recent storms, records state.

— Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of cutting

Verb

The latter regulation is the state’s backstop climate trading program that puts an ever-stricter cap on emissions across sectors and allows polluting businesses to buy and trade allowances to meet it.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Such plans are contrary to Indonesia’s promises to cut its use of coal, the most heavily polluting major fossil fuel and a significant source of planet-warming emissions.

— ABC News, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of polluting

Verb

Now the technique has become mainstream as attackers reap its simplicity and effectiveness in infecting users of PCs and Macs alike.

— Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026
That includes Memory Integrity protection, which uses hardware-dependent methods to prevent malware from infecting OS processes.

— Chris Hoffman, PC Magazine, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of infecting

Verb

The court heard how the former nurse, now 36, attacked babies in her care by administering air into their blood and stomachs, overfeeding them with milk, physically assaulting them and poisoning them with insulin.

— Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026
Former Titans scout Blaise Taylor received consecutive life sentences after his conviction for poisoning his pregnant girlfriend.

— Chris Branch, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of poisoning

Browse Nearby Words

watering cans

watering down

watering hole

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“Watering down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watering%20down. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of watering down

verb

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