water down

verb

1. to dilute or weaken with water
2. to modify or adulterate, esp so as to omit anything harsh, unpleasant, or offensive

   to water down the truth

Derived Forms

• ˌwatered-ˈdown, adjective

Idioms and Phrases

Dilute or weaken, as in He watered down that unfavorable report with feeble excuses . [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

Investigative reporting has also documented the repeated attempts of ExxonMobil lobbyists to water down U.S. climate policy.

From Salon

Law firm Leigh Day said Packham had reached "a legal settlement" with the new Labour government that said the Tory administration "had acted unlawfully" by axing or watering down climate policies.

From BBC

Some lobbyists have been trying to persuade her to water down a commitment to remove tax breaks for investment which the Treasury has called “unjustifiably generous.”

From BBC

What other demands are going to be watered down in the next few years?”

From BBC

It was watered down eventually, despite former Prime Minister Tony Blair's manifesto promise to end the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the upper house.

From BBC

Related Words

• attenuate
• weaken