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
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
Proxies and acolytes are deployed to the networks to underscore the strength of the president’s stance while subtly watering down threats and reassuring investors.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 13 Oct. 2025
Stop watering down your message to avoid offending anyone.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
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
Proxies and acolytes are deployed to the networks to underscore the strength of the president’s stance while subtly watering down threats and reassuring investors.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 13 Oct. 2025
Stop watering down your message to avoid offending anyone.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for watering down
Verb
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Individuals close to Bass confirmed her involvement in diluting the report.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Feb. 2026
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In the Texas case, by contrast, the DOJ had argued a lower court got it wrong when ruling the new Texas map likely discriminated against racial minorities by diluting the voting power of Hispanic and Black Texans.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Castle logged 22 minutes against the Mavs, loading the box score with 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Antonio Express-News,
6 Feb. 2026
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And the two front-runners are loading up.—
Adam Beam,
AJC.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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With equal panache, and without cutting away, the narrative focus is handed like a baton in a relay race to the arriving Mayor Dumont (Josse De Pauw) and his daughter and press attaché Marie (Violet Braeckman).—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
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The Legislature should focus on lowering costs by delivering permanent property tax relief, restraining state and local spending, cutting red tape that drives up housing and energy costs, and expanding reliable energy production to keep utilities affordable.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Several clean energy groups said extending the coal plants would raise serious questions about TVA’s decision-making, since the utility has said more natural gas plants were needed to retire polluting coal plants.—
Jonathan Mattise,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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For that reason, many local opponents argue that if compressor stations are going to be expanded, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection should force Iroquois to utilize less-polluting technologies such as all-electric motors.—
John Moritz,
Hartford Courant,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Most people are treated with blood-thinning medications, known as anticoagulants, which prevent existing clots from expanding and reduce the risk of new clots forming, says Samuel Gurevich, MD, a pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Florida.—
Emily Kay Votruba,
EverydayHealth.com,
10 Feb. 2026
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In contrast, hair loss tends to show up in specific patterns — such as thinning near the temples, a widening hairline, or bald areas near the crown — and happen more gradually.—
Rebecca Strong,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Less than a mile from Campbell’s home, inside City Hall, dysfunction was infecting the police department.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
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In other words, don't show up unannounced at a medical office or emergency room and risk infecting others.—
Sarah Volpenhein,
jsonline.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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There are even tales of them poisoning people and holding funerals for their dead.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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Officials in both Hong Kong and Beijing defended the case against Lai, with the city’s leader John Lee accusing the newspaper of inciting violence and poisoning young minds.—
Kanis Leung,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Watering down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watering%20down. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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