Douse vs Dampen - What's the difference?
douse | dampen |
(ambitransitive) To plunge suddenly into water; to duck; to immerse.
To fall suddenly into water.
To put out; to extinguish.
To strike.
(nautical) To strike or lower in haste; to slacken suddenly; as, douse the topsail.
To make damp or moist; to make slightly wet.
To depress; to check; to make dull; to lessen.
* The Century
* 2007 October 16, Jane E. Brody, “Despite Strides, Listeria Needs Vigilance”, ,
To become damp; to deaden.
In intransitive terms the difference between douse and dampen
is that douse is to fall suddenly into water while dampen is to become damp; to deaden.In transitive terms the difference between douse and dampen
is that douse is to strike while dampen is to depress; to check; to make dull; to lessen.As verbs the difference between douse and dampen
is that douse is to plunge suddenly into water; to duck; to immerse while dampen is to make damp or moist; to make slightly wet.As a noun douse
is a blow; stroke.douse
English
Etymology 1
Probably of (etyl) origin, related to (etyl) and (douse) below.Alternative forms
*Verb
- (Hudibras)
Etymology 2
From (etyl) duschen, .Verb
(dous)Anagrams
*dampen
English
Verb
(en verb)- In a way that considerably dampened our enthusiasm.
- Pregnant women are 20 times as likely as other healthy young women to contract listeriosis, probably because in pregnancy the immune system is dampened to prevent rejection of the fetus.