watered-down

[waw-terd-doun, wot-erd-]

adjective

1. made weaker or less effective from or as from dilution with water.

   a watered-down cocktail; Spectators saw a watered-down version of the famous opera.

Word History and Origins

Origin of watered-down¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

A recommendation from the bartender at Paya: Forgo the watered-down resort daiquiri and spend that money on a flight of Florida rums at Swizzle Rum Bar & Drinkery.

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European Union environment ministers agreed to a watered-down version of the bloc’s 2040 climate goals on Wednesday, bringing the EU one step closer to setting new—if weaker—targets for lowering carbon emissions.

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It is a watered-down version of the earlier plan devised by the European Commission—the EU’s executive arm—which would have required EU countries to slash emissions by 90%, with only 3% of that figure coming from carbon-credit purchases.

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Most of them are “watered-down versions” of Musk’s own “broken promises,” in the words of Tech Crunch, one of the few tech news sites to have carefully analyzed the pay package.

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It would be like the pope abruptly announcing that the doctrine of transubstantiation is nonsense; it’s just a cracker and a cup of watered-down wine.

Read more on Salon