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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If the opportunity to sell Romero arises in the summer, Spurs should seriously consider cutting their losses and reinvesting the money in a more reliable defender.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
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Local reports said Ukrainian missiles hit a power plant and an electrical substation, cutting power to parts of the city.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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View gallery - 4 images Electric passenger ferries offer a promising alternative to polluting fossil-fuel guzzlers given the relatively short hops these vessels need to make per trip.—
Stefan Ionescu
February 04,
New Atlas,
4 Feb. 2026
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Due to these conditions, the region is highly reliant on expensive and polluting diesel fuel transported by truck, plane, or barge.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Large institutional outflows are mounting as investors brace for bitcoin to go lower, thinning liquidity for the token, according to a recent analyst note from Deutsche Bank.—
Liz Napolitano,
CNBC,
6 Feb. 2026
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However, its rapid growth may necessitate thinning it out from time to time in an ornamental pond environment.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
31 Jan. 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 14 Feb. 2026.
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