1
as in to moisten
to make or become slightly or moderately wet
dampen a paper towel with water and use it to clean up the mess
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to reduce
to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling
the oppressive heat dampened our spirits
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to undermine
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality
nothing could dampen their enthusiasm
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dampen
Rising inventory levels are giving buyers more options and better negotiating power, but historically high home prices and mortgage rates still hovering between 6 and 7 percent are still dampening demand.
—
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025
Admittedly, Trump’s trade war has dampened the steady growth of the fledgling beauty brand.
—Bianca Salonga, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Editors’ Picks How an American Sign Language Artist Spends Their Sundays
The start-and-stop nature of the rollout of tariffs has also roiled the stock market and dampened consumer confidence as people have hunkered down.
—Ken Belson, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Instead, there were flyovers but the day was dampened by rain.
—Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dampen
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025
Admittedly, Trump’s trade war has dampened the steady growth of the fledgling beauty brand.
—Bianca Salonga, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Editors’ Picks How an American Sign Language Artist Spends Their Sundays
The start-and-stop nature of the rollout of tariffs has also roiled the stock market and dampened consumer confidence as people have hunkered down.
—Ken Belson, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Instead, there were flyovers but the day was dampened by rain.
—Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dampen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dampen
Verb
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Wet the soil to moisten it up before spreading it evenly onto a clean baking sheet.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
25 Apr. 2025
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Pour the cream mixture into the butter-flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or flexible spatula to moisten.—
Kelly Brant,
Arkansas Online,
22 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Answer: Your withdrawals from retirement plans won’t reduce your Social Security directly.—
Liz Weston,
Los Angeles Times,
3 May 2025
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The trial of estrogen alone also raised safety concerns, though both types of therapy reduced the risk of bone fractures.—
Jean Wactawski-Wende,
The Conversation,
2 May 2025
Verb
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Miranda Jeyaretnam and Chad de Guzman reported on April 30, 2025, for the 50th anniversary of the war’s end, on how President Donald Trump is undermining U.S.-Vietnam reconciliation.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
30 Apr. 2025
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This kind of long-term vision is undermined by drastic and unpredictable trade policies.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
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They’re applied to damp hair after shampooing and conditioning—and then, crucially, left there.—
Malia Griggs,
Glamour,
24 Apr. 2025
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In a nutshell, the shocks use low damping forces when the vehicle is traveling in a high frequency environment, like on long stretches of smooth road, but use high damping forces when traveling in a low frequency area like a road with a lot of bumps or sharp corners.—
Bryan Rogala,
Outside Online,
30 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Give ample space to large vehicles - Trucks or buses can create a water spray that diminishes visibility.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
9 May 2025
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Consider this: if users can readily obtain answers from their iPhone's lock screen or through Siri without needing to open a browser, Google's role in the information access process diminishes significantly.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
8 May 2025
Verb
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Others may develop it after pregnancy, as the muscles and ligaments around the uterus can loosen or weaken.—
Brandi Jones,
Health,
10 May 2025
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This weakens their ability to tailor experiences and erodes marketing efficiency.—
Amit Jhawar,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
Verb
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My clothes were wet with sweat on the inside and wet on the outside from a mixture of rain, snow and sleet, and some of the mist was freezing on the trees.—
Charles Elliott,
Outdoor Life,
1 May 2025
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While last week’s celebrity beauty trends couldn’t be pinned down, this week, one thing couldn’t be stated more: wet your hair.—
India Espy-Jones,
Essence,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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By studying the images, engineers can confirm and enhance the sonic-boom-deadening properties for the XB-1's airframe.—
David Szondy,
New Atlas,
3 Mar. 2025
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Lightweight glass, a reduction of sound-deadening materials, and the marginally lighter 6-speed manual gearbox help the 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera T Cabriolet weigh 3,505 pounds—the company's lightest manual open-roof variant.—
Michael Harley,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dampen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dampen. Accessed 14 May. 2025.
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