as in to dilute
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 water down
On the big screen, marijuana has been watered down to the point of near invisibility.
—
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 20 Apr. 2026
Broiling the vegetables keeps them from watering down the casserole.
—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2026
The bill was watered down by the end of session.
—Romy Ellenbogen, Sun Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2026
The sizzle ended with Cruise perched atop the water down on the Paramount lot.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for water down
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 20 Apr. 2026
Broiling the vegetables keeps them from watering down the casserole.
—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2026
The bill was watered down by the end of session.
—Romy Ellenbogen, Sun Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2026
The sizzle ended with Cruise perched atop the water down on the Paramount lot.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for water down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for water down
Verb
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Conservatives advocating for a colorblind interpretation are cheering the decision, but liberal critics maintain this decision will dilute Black and Hispanic representation in Congress.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
1 May 2026
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In 2023, a federal judge found that Georgia’s congressional and legislative maps illegally diluted Black voting strength and ordered lawmakers to draw additional majority-Black districts.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Wednesday’s game, in particular, ended in extremely bizarre fashion with Xavier Edwards turning an unusual unassisted double play with the bases loaded and Freddie Freeman at the plate.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
30 Apr. 2026
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The Patriots blew the game open with a six-run fifth, including an RBI single from Lindsay and one walk and one hit batter with the bases loaded to push across runs.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But as filming continued, Pidgeon appeared to dirty her butter blond with caramel and chocolate shades similar to Bessette-Kennedy’s, thanks to stylist Kari Hill.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
25 Feb. 2026
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With the help of your Instant Pot, spaghetti and meatballs come together in under an hour without dirtying multiple dishes.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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At the same time, Bass has proposed cutting entirely the Animal Services Department’s annual budget for food, which was $200,000 last year, and also slashing the medical supplies budget to $49,000, from $388,000 last year.—
Sandra McDonald,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
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But now that the post-pandemic boom has well and truly gone bust, just showing up with a great looking timepiece isn’t going to cut it.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Water sources are often polluted through run-off from lawns that contain herbicides.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
28 Apr. 2026
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As of last April, the state environmental agency was also lagging behind on inspections of polluting facilities, according to the audit.—
Christine Condon,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Who cares about the fact that her friend cheated when her child was poisoned by her husband and her father?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
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Kuroda admitted to using chloroform, paraformaldehyde (PFA), and Trizol to poison his co-worker's water bottle and shoes, according to a Dane County Court criminal complaint.—
Robert McGreevy,
FOXNews.com,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Most people infected with salmonella typically experience diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps, with symptoms usually starting 6 hours to 6 days after swallowing the bacteria, according to the CDC.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
30 Apr. 2026
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Overall, about half of children with the disease are infected during birth, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia said, while others caught it from family members.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Water down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/water%20down. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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