Synonyms

bedew

American

[bih-doo, -dyoo] / bɪˈdu, -ˈdyu /

verb (used with object)

to wet with or as if with dew.

bedew British

/ bɪˈdjuː /

verb

(tr) to wet or cover with or as if with drops of dew

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bedew

First recorded in 1300–50, bedew is from the Middle English word bydewen. See be-, dew

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Do not speak so closely to another person with such enthusiasm that you bedew the other man with your spittle,” he said, from a safe distance.

From Washington Times • Sep. 6, 2019

Tears will bedew, if wigs do not bestrew the green.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 19, 2017

It’s a little cooler today, but possibly rainier: Scattered showers may bedew us, with a high of 70.

From New York Times • May 6, 2015

And when she goes down to the grave in death, he will bedew her grave with the honorable tears of manly feeling.

From The Child at Home The Principles of Filial Duty, Familiarly Illustrated by Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)

So Phyllida went to bedew her lavendered pillow.

From The Passionate Elopement by MacKenzie, Compton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023