Meaning & use
watered-down
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Made weaker or less effective by adding extra material or by removing important parts.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a watered-down version, watered-down policies. It is not usually used after a verb.
Patterns
- watered-down version
- watered-down form
- watered-down content
- watered-down proposal
The final report was a watered-down version of the original, with all the strong recommendations removed.
They served us watered-down juice that tasted mostly like water.
The committee approved a watered-down plan that pleased nobody.
adjectivebefore a noun
Weakened in force or intensity, especially by compromise or dilution.
Grammar: Describes something that has lost its strength, often through negotiation or dilution.
Patterns
- watered-down compromise
- watered-down reforms
- watered-down measures
After months of debate, the law became a watered-down compromise.
The critics said the new rules were watered-down and would not solve the problem.
What we got was a watered-down version of the promised reforms.
Common combinations
- watered-down version
- The movie is a watered-down version of the book.
- watered-down compromise
- The deal was a watered-down compromise that satisfied no one.
- watered-down reforms
- The protesters demanded real change, not watered-down reforms.
- watered-down drink
- The bartender gave us a watered-down drink.
Synonyms and how they differ
- diluted
- Often used for liquids that have had water added; watered-down is more common for ideas or plans that have been weakened.
- weakened
- A general word for loss of strength; watered-down specifically suggests that something has been made less forceful by adding something else or by removing parts.
- toned down
- Means made less extreme or intense, often for a particular audience; watered-down often implies a loss of quality or effectiveness.
Opposites
Word family
- water down phrasal verb
- To make something weaker or less effective.
Commonly confused: watered-down or water down?
watered-down vs water down
Water down is the verb phrase; watered-down is the adjective. You water down a proposal, but you end up with a watered-down proposal.
Practice
The final agreement was a ______ version of the original proposal, with most of the strong measures removed.
Choose one answer.
The adjective form is 'watered-down', used before a noun. 'Water-down' is the verb, 'watering-down' is not an adjective, and 'watered-downing' is not a word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “watered-down”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.