damp

[ damp ]

/ dæmp /

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See synonyms for: damp / damped / damper / damping on Thesaurus.com

adjective, damp·er, damp·est.

slightly wet; moist: damp weather;a damp towel.

unenthusiastic; halfhearted; tepid: The welcoming committee gave them a rather damp reception.

dejected; depressed: I went shopping to lift my damp spirits.

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, Plant Pathology. to undergo damping-off.

OTHER WORDS FOR damp

1 dank, steamy.

4 dampness, dankness, fog, vapor.

8 humidify.

9 slow, inhibit, restrain, moderate, abate.

See synonyms for damp on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR damp

1 dry.

See antonyms for damp on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of damp

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (in sense of def. 5 ); compare Middle Dutch damp, Middle High German dampf “vapor, smoke”

synonym study for damp

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM damp

dampish, adjectivedamp·ish·ly, adverbdamp·ish·ness, noundamply, adverb

dampness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH damp

1. damp , humid, moist (see synonym study at the current entry)2. damp , dampen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use damp in a sentence

After all, their homeland was a damp, wet rainforest, not exactly the perfect place for mummifying fossils, since all that moisture helps organic material decay.
This weird Cretaceous amphibian has the oldest-recorded ballistic tongue|Sara Kiley Watson|November 11, 2020|Popular-Science
Throw any damp layers from the day into the bottom of your bag — your body heat will help dry them.
Winter camping is not for the faint of heart. Here’s how to do it.|Melanie D.G. Kaplan|November 6, 2020|Washington Post
Also, keep in mind that the PageRank algorithm has a “damping factor”.
PageRank sculpting: How to get more from your links|Manick Bhan|October 26, 2020|Search Engine Watch
Carry a container of fire-starting fuels in your survival kit for these frigid and damp occasions.
The 10-step guide to survival in an emergency|By Tim MacWelch/Outdoor Life|September 29, 2020|Popular-Science

In the reishi fruiting room, the air was so thick with spores I could taste their soft, damp bitterness.
The Fungal Evangelist Who Would Save the Bees - Issue 90: Something Green|Merlin Sheldrake|September 23, 2020|Nautilus
Where the dampness is excessive the fronds take on an unhealthy appearance, and mould may appear.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
It had come on to rain, and the raw dampness mingled itself with the dusky uproar of the Strand.
Confidence|Henry James
It should always be erected on dry ground, rather than upon moist, so that no dampness may arise and injure the leaves in curing.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
At the level of the ground there should be a course of hollow vitrified brick to exclude dampness and to give ventilation.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
Such a position affords the best natural drainage, removes dampness, avoids inundations, gives full sunlight and the purer air.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley

British Dictionary definitions for damp

damp

/ (dæmp) /

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)

Derived forms of damp

dampish, adjectivedamply, adverbdampness, noun

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

damp

OTHER WORDS FOR damp

OPPOSITES FOR damp

Origin of damp

synonym study for damp

OTHER WORDS FROM damp

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH damp

Words related to damp

How to use damp in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for damp

Derived forms of damp

Word Origin for damp