to water down
14
4.0
- phrasal verb
- /ˈwɔːtər daʊn/
- Informal
:
diluir
- In order to appeal to a wider audience, the director chose to water down the film's intense themes.
- attempt to water down
I worry that we are watering down our product.
- I worry that we are watering down our product.
- So now I'm just watering down this green and adding little bits here and there.
- People accuse us of popularizing or watering things down.
- And so yes, you have too many things from dead people, and holding on to all of them is going to water down the sentimental value of those things.
- Which means COVID might have watered itself down so it could reach more people, like the ice cube of corona variants.
- But, but if we if we, we get more value from having fewer things than if we water them down with a hoarder's existence.
- I'm just going to do root beer because the ice watered it down and I'm going to do a little bit of this gross jizz milk cake that I made.
Examples
-
The reforms passed are watered down so much they won't change the budget problem.
Blog text (29) -
I advocate that churches start firing ministers who water down their messages.
Blog text (14) -
It's really tasty if you water it down a little.
-
I worry that we are watering down our product.
-
Be comfortable with who you are, and don't water down what is an excellent brand.
Blog text (25) -
Would expansion prohibit growth as it would water down the talent pool?
Blog text (11) -
We even watered down the drinks, but that meant we had to skimp in other places.
-
Moreover, the Senate is still a bastion of the right-wing, with the power to block or water down reformist laws.
Academic text (1992) -
Skillful lobbying by Moncheur got the resolution watered down before it passed, but the entire episode drastically changed the climate in Washington.
Academic text (1998) -
The bartender decided to water down the whiskey to make it last longer.
Synonyms
44
3.7
To make something less strong, for example a sound, color or feeling
28
3.5
To make a liquid weaker by adding water
2
3.7
Make a drink weaker by adding water or another liquid
Antonyms
How Strong
Surface Forms
Morphology
water + down
The sense 'to make less strong or dilute' is directly predictable from combining 'water' (to add water) with 'down' (to reduce/lower): adding water makes something weaker, so the composed meaning is compositional and follows normal English verb+particle patterns. The extension from liquids to weakening ideas or statements is a straightforward metaphorical extension that remains transparent to learners who know the constituents.
Etymology
The phrasal verb water down comes from the simple image of adding water to something so its strength goes down. So when people say a rule, idea, or story was 'watered down', they mean it was made less strong or less powerful.