Douse-Dowse | Commonly Confused Words
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Master confusing words with ease

Douse vs. Dowse

Douse

/daʊs/
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:

etymology
  • 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.
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