variants
also dowse
1
as in to extinguish
to cause to cease burning
douse the campfire before leaving in the morning
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to drown
to make wet
the heavy rains thoroughly doused the tourists strolling the town streets
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to remove
to rid oneself of (a garment)
in those days a gentleman would douse his hat when going indoors
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
British
as in blow
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
those soccer hooligans need a sound douse or two from a police officer's club
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of douse
Ray Stern, AZCentral.com, 25 Mar. 2026
While waiting for medical personnel to arrive, do anything possible to cool them down—move them to the shade, strip their clothes, and douse them with cold water.
—Brad Stulberg, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 29 May 2025
The commission’s members also called for prioritizing additional water storage capacity in neighborhoods, and systems with external sprinklers to douse homes, parks and schools.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for douse
Verb
Police accused Arianna Skye Foster, his 21-year-old girlfriend of spitting at a driver, dousing another with pepper spray and throwing rocks and pieces of brick at vehicles, according to documents.
—Ray Stern, AZCentral.com, 25 Mar. 2026
While waiting for medical personnel to arrive, do anything possible to cool them down—move them to the shade, strip their clothes, and douse them with cold water.
—Brad Stulberg, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
Noun
And his sense of humor douses jest over images that probably shouldn’t be funny.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 29 May 2025
The commission’s members also called for prioritizing additional water storage capacity in neighborhoods, and systems with external sprinklers to douse homes, parks and schools.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for douse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for douse
Noun
-
In a blow to the fledgling environmental movement, however, a report by Nixon’s science adviser, Lee DuBridge, called for more drilling, not less.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
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The blow came after the right-hander threw a four-seam fastball that nearly hit Trout’s face.—
Anthony Solorzano,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The bearded blueliner has skated through the bumps and bruises that come with delivering checks and deflecting slap shots.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
That’s how Larry Graham came up with slap bass.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
One scenario nobody anticipates is a knock on the door from a Florida Department of Children and Families adult protection investigator.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Rizvi was the aggressor of the two, hitting four sixes and five boundaries while Stubbs’ 32-ball knock featured three fours and a six.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Game notes Rangers bats struggled for most of Saturday’s game with only four hits in the game but rallied and had runners on the corners with two outs in the ninth inning and Evan Carter up to bat.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Apr. 2026
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When the pandemic hit, our local public school closed its computer lab, issued my kindergartener an iPad, and never looked back.—
Abby McCloskey,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
For years, now, we have been forced to tap, swipe, and scan in an outdated infrastructure, built for a pre-intelligent era.—
Alex Israel,
Fortune,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Or worse, consequential decisions are often made not by Congress, but with the swipe of a president’s pen.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Moments later, a bass thump sounded in the distance.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The experimental jet, part of NASA’s Quesst mission, is designed to fly faster than the speed of sound while producing only a soft sonic thump instead of a disruptive boom.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The Bruins didn’t play a lick of defense in their only home loss of the season – a 98-97 overtime defeat against Indiana.—
Aaron Heisen,
Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
-
There is not a lick of exaggeration in that statement.—
Scott Hocker,
TheWeek,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Course-correct what’s out of whack.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Insurer networks are supposed to steer patients toward efficient providers, but the incentives are out of whack.—
Bobby Jindal,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Douse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/douse. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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