Master confusing words with ease
Damp vs. Dank
Damp
/dæmp/Examples:
The basement was cold and damp after the heavy rain.Her eyes felt damp as she remembered the sad news.He wiped the damp table with a dry cloth.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Dank
/dæŋk/Examples:
The cellar had a dank, musty odor that lingered.His humor had a dank edge that not everyone appreciated.She shivered in the building's dank, damp corridors.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Think of damp as something slightly wet, almost like a sponge that isn't soaked but feels moist.
- Dank often has a negative connotation and implies a sort of wetness that is unpleasant and typically associated with bad smells or decay.
- If it's drizzling and your clothes get slightly wet, they are damped, not danked.
- A dank place might be an old basement with no ventilation — dark, musty, and humid.
- Remember damp for everyday mild wetness and dank for describing an unappealing environment.
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