damp

[damp]

See more synonyms for damp on Thesaurus.com

adjective, damp·er, damp·est.

slightly wet; moist: damp weather; a damp towel.
unenthusiastic; dejected; depressed: The welcoming committee gave them a rather damp reception.

noun

moisture; humidity; moist air: damp that goes through your warmest clothes.
a noxious or stifling vapor or gas, especially in a mine.
depression of spirits; dejection.
a restraining or discouraging force or factor.

verb (used with object)

to make damp; moisten.
to check or retard the energy, action, etc., of; deaden; dampen: A series of failures damped her enthusiasm.
to stifle or suffocate; extinguish: to damp a furnace.
Acoustics, Music. to check or retard the action of (a vibrating string); dull; deaden.
Physics. to cause a decrease in amplitude of (successive oscillations or waves).

Verb Phrases

damp off, to undergo damping-off.

Origin of damp

1300–50; Middle English (in sense of def. 4); compare Middle Dutch damp, Middle High German dampf vapor, smoke

Related formsdamp·ish, adjectivedamp·ish·ly, adverbdamp·ish·ness, noundamp·ly, adverbdamp·ness, noun

Can be confuseddamp moist (see synonym study at the current entry)damp dampen

Synonyms for damp

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

1. dank, steamy. 3. dankness, dampness, fog, vapor. 7. humidify. 8. slow, inhibit, restrain, moderate, abate.

Synonym study

1. Damp, humid, moist mean slightly wet. Damp usually implies slight and extraneous wetness, generally undesirable or unpleasant unless the result of intention: a damp cellar; to put a damp cloth on a patient's forehead. Humid is applied to unpleasant dampness in the air: The air is oppressively humid today. Moist denotes something that is slightly wet, naturally or properly: moist ground; moist leather.

Antonyms for damp

1. dry.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for dampness

condensation, smoke, gas, fog, moisture, smog, steam, evaporation, effluvium, dew, breath, haze, exhalation, miasma, reek, dampness, wetness, humidity, oppressiveness, heaviness

Examples from the Web for dampness

Historical Examples of dampness

The dripping of water reached the ear; the smell of dampness the nostrils.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
Round these there were circles of dampness, showing that evaporation was taking place.
The Slave Of The Lamp
Henry Seton Merriman
A faint, searching woods perfume of dampness greets your nostrils.
The Forest
Stewart Edward White
The only thing she did not like was the courtyard's dampness.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola
The dampness was affecting him, and he wrapped his muffler more closely about his neck.
The Fat and the Thin
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for dampness

damp

adjective

slightly wet, as from dew, steam, etc
archaic dejected

noun

slight wetness; moisture; humidity
rank air or poisonous gas, esp in a mineSee also firedamp
a discouragement; damper
archaic dejection

verb (tr)

to make slightly wet
(often foll by down) to stifle or deadento damp one's ardour
(often foll by down) to reduce the flow of air to (a fire) to make it burn more slowly or to extinguish it
physics to reduce the amplitude of (an oscillation or wave)
music to muffle (the sound of an instrument)

Word Origin for damp

C14: from Middle Low German damp steam; related to Old High German demphen to cause to steam

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

Word Origin and History for dampness

damp

late 14c., "to suffocate," from damp (n.). Figurative meaning "to deaden (the spirits, etc.)" attested by 1540s. Meaning "to moisten" is recorded from 1670s. Related: Damped; damping.

damp

adj.

1580s, "dazed," from damp (n.). Meaning "slightly wet" is from 1706. Related: Dampness.

damp

early 14c., "a noxious vapor," perhaps in Old English but there is no record of it. If not, probably from Middle Low German damp; ultimately in either case from Proto-Germanic *dampaz (cf. Old High German damph, German Dampf "vapor;" Old Norse dampi "dust"). Sense of "moisture, humidity" is first certainly attested 1706.