drench

[ drench ]

verb (used with object)

1. to wet thoroughly; soak.
2. to saturate by immersion in a liquid; steep.
3. to cover or fill completely; bathe:

   trees drenched with sunlight.

4. Veterinary Medicine. to administer a draft of medicine to (an animal), especially by force:

   to drench a horse.

5. Archaic. to cause to drink.

noun

1. the act of drenching.
2. something that drenches:

   a drench of rain.

3. a preparation for drenching or steeping.
4. a solution, especially one of fermenting bran, for drenching hides or skins.
5. a large drink or draft.
6. a draft of medicine, especially one administered to an animal by force.
7. Horticulture. a mixture of pesticide and water applied to the soil surrounding a plant.

drench

/ drɛntʃ /

verb

1. to make completely wet; soak
2. to give liquid medicine to (an animal), esp by force

noun

1. the act or an instance of drenching
2. a dose of liquid medicine given to an animal

Derived Forms

• ˈdrenching, nounadjective
• ˈdrencher, noun

Other Words From

• drencher noun
• drenching·ly adverb
• un·drenched adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of drench¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English drenchen, Old English drencan, causative of drincan “to drink” ( drink ); cognate with Dutch drenken, German tränken “to water, give to drink”

Word History and Origins

Origin of drench¹

Old English drencan to cause to drink; related to Old High German trenken

Synonym Study

See wet.

Example Sentences

Instead, he wandered out into the rain and sat still, letting the water drench his body.

From Los Angeles Times

Heavy rains are predicted to drench the region from Sunday to Tuesday as a pair of late-season, back-to-back atmospheric rivers arrive, according to the National Weather Service Seattle.

From Seattle Times

An atmospheric river forming off the coast is on its way to drench the region beginning Sunday and into the early part of next week.

From Seattle Times

State officials say this tunnel would let the state capture more water when the state is hit by “atmospheric rivers” — large storms that can drench the state for weeks during the rainy season.

From Seattle Times

“I just remember seeing my classmates always sweating, and they’d even drench themselves in water from the water fountains,” Vue said in a phone interview, noting climate change is making heat waves longer and hotter, but they didn’t learn about that in school.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• deluge
• douse
• drown
• immerse
• impregnate
• inundate
• saturate
• soak
• steep
• submerge