Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "dampen" []

  • To make damp. (verb-transitive)
  • To deaden, restrain, or depress: "trade moves . . . aimed at dampening protectionist pressures in Congress” ( Christian Science Monitor). (verb-transitive)
  • To soundproof. (verb-transitive)
  • To become damp. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "dampen" in a sentence
  • "BOSTON (Ticker) -- Kyle Davies was not about to let a little rain dampen his major league debut."
  • "Different parts of the human body – for instance, bones and soft tissues like the brain – dampen X-rays differently."
  • "Now that also suggests that Raimi is sticking with the franchise in a production capacity, and that would kind of dampen any idea that they were seriously arguing and at deadlock over the future so that Sony and Columbia just cut all ties with him, wouldn't it?"