water down
English
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb
water down (third-person singular simple present waters down, present participle watering down, simple past and past participle watered down)
- To dilute; to add water to.
- You need to water down the lemonade a bit more to make it less sweet, dear.
- (idiomatic) To make weaker, less effective.
- 2023 February 8, Paul Stephen, “Network News: Hunt dismisses rumours that HS2 will not go to Euston”, in RAIL, number 976, page 25:
- "Scaling back its ambition further, at this stage, will just mean the economic and social benefit of HS2 for communities across the UK is further watered down. Our national infrastructure should not become a political football."
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- (idiomatic) To simplify or oversimplify; to make easier; to make less difficult.
- If you plan to teach this material to children, you may need to water it down.
- (idiomatic) To make less restrictive; to make more lenient.
Derived terms
- watered-down
Translations
to dilute
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to make weaker
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to simplify
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See also
- dumb down
- tone down