Meaning & use
douse
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To soak someone or something by pouring a large amount of liquid over it.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with in or with: douse it with water.
Patterns
- douse something with something
- douse something in something
The children doused each other with buckets of water.
She doused the salad in dressing.
He doused his head under the cold tap to cool down.
verbtransitive
To put out a fire or a light, often by pouring water over it.
Grammar: Takes an object: douse the flames.
Patterns
- douse a fire
- douse the flames
Firefighters quickly doused the flames in the kitchen.
He doused the campfire before going to bed.
She doused the lamp and the room went dark.
verbtransitivefigurative
To quickly reduce or end a feeling, hope or excitement.
Grammar: Often used with cold water: douse enthusiasm.
Patterns
- douse someone's hopes
- douse enthusiasm
The bad review doused her excitement about the show.
His comment doused our hopes of an early finish.
The coach tried to douse the rumors.
Word forms
| third person singular | douses |
|---|---|
| past tense | doused |
| past participle | doused |
| -ing form | dousing |
Common combinations
- douse a fire
- The crew managed to douse a fire in the barn.
- douse in water
- They doused the rope in water to cool it.
- douse the flames
- Rain finally doused the flames.
- douse with petrol
- The police warned against dousing logs with petrol.
- douse hopes
- The delay doused her hopes of winning.
Synonyms and how they differ
- drench
- Drench stresses getting thoroughly wet, whereas douse can also mean putting something out.
- extinguish
- Extinguish is formal and means only to put out a fire or light, with no focus on liquid.
- soak
- Soak means to leave something in liquid until wet through, while douse is a quick pouring.
- quench
- Quench is used for ending thirst or a fire, but it feels more literary than douse.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: douse or dowse?
douse vs dowse
Dowse means to search for water or minerals with a stick or rod, and it sounds exactly like douse, though it is a different word.
Practice
The campers used a bucket of sand to ___ the last of the fire before leaving.
Choose one answer.
Douse means to put out a fire. 'Dowse' sounds identical but means to search for water, and 'dose' means to give a measured amount of medicine.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “douse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.