drench

/drɛntʃ/

/drɛntʃ/

Other forms: drenched; drenching; drenches

To drench something is to get it thoroughly wet. You might drench your sister with the garden hose to pay her back for squirting you with her water pistol.

When you're sailing a small boat on a stormy day, waves might drench you, and a torrential rain storm can also drench you, if you leave your umbrella at home. If your dog is crazy about swimming, he might drench himself often by plunging into whatever body of water you're near. Drench comes from the Old English drencan, which means both "submerge or drown" and "give drink to or make drunk."

Definitions of drench

1. verb

   cover with liquid; pour liquid onto
   synonyms: douse, dowse, soak, sop, souse

   types:

   brine

   soak in brine

   bedraggle, draggle

   make wet and dirty, as from rain

   bate

   soak in a special solution to soften and remove chemicals used in previous treatments

   ret

   place (flax, hemp, or jute) in liquid so as to promote loosening of the fibers from the woody tissue

   flush, sluice

   irrigate with water from a sluice

   type of:

   wet

   cause to become wet
2. verb

   drench or submerge or be drenched or submerged
   synonyms: swamp

   type of:

   flood

   cover with liquid, usually water
3. verb

   permeate or impregnate
   “The war drenched the country in blood”

   synonyms: imbrue

   type of:

   impregnate, saturate

   infuse or fill completely
4. verb

   force to drink
   type of:

   cater, ply, provide, supply

   give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance