To pour liquid over something or to extinguish a fire with water
Examples:
She doused the campfire with a bucket of water.The lights were doused, leaving the room pitch dark.He doused the flames quickly before they spread.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Dowse
/daʊz/
To pour liquid over something or someone.
Examples:
He began to dowse for groundwater using his trusted rod.In his spare time, he learned how to dowse effectively.The villagers asked her to dowse for the lost well.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
Douse with a u means to drench or extinguish something, like putting out a fire with water.
Dowse with a w often involves searching for underground water with a stick, a mystical practice.
Remember, douse rhymes with house, and just like you can flood a house with water, you can douse something with water.
Dowse reflects a kind of seeking and searching, as in looking down into the ground for water.
Try imagining douse as putting water over something and dowse as poking around with a stick.