water down
verb
watered down; watering down; waters down
: to reduce or temper the force or effectiveness of
watered down the plan
Synonyms
Examples of water down in a Sentence
watered down the cocktails while jacking up their prices
Recent Examples on the Web
The announcement means that New Zealand’s national flag carrier has become the first major airline to water down its near-term climate aspirations, a move that reflects the scale of the industry’s challenge to meet its decarbonization goals.
—
Sam Meredith, CNBC, 30 July 2024
Hungary has watered down some Russia sanctions and held up NATO accession for Sweden.
—Dave Lawler, Axios, 12 July 2024
Fallen leaves and organic material help slow water down, giving it more time to enter the ground.
—Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 24 May 2024
With the Greens also losing a number of seats, many scientists worry the new balance of power will aggravate an ongoing trend toward watering down the EU’s environmental ambitions.
—science.org, 3 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for water down 
Sam Meredith, CNBC, 30 July 2024
Hungary has watered down some Russia sanctions and held up NATO accession for Sweden.
—Dave Lawler, Axios, 12 July 2024
Fallen leaves and organic material help slow water down, giving it more time to enter the ground.
—Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 24 May 2024
With the Greens also losing a number of seats, many scientists worry the new balance of power will aggravate an ongoing trend toward watering down the EU’s environmental ambitions.
—science.org, 3 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for water down
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'water down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Water down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/water%20down. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.
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