throw cold water on
verb
Simple meaning
To belittle or dismiss.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
throhkohldwawterahnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈθɹoʊkoʊldwɔtɚɑn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitiveidiomaticof an achievementemotionideasuggestionetc.
To belittle or dismiss; to cast doubt upon; to debunk.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (of an achievement, emotion, idea, suggestion, etc.) To belittle or dismiss; to cast doubt upon; to debunk.
Used this way, throw cold water on is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It quietly approves while staying precise.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Successful and accomplished
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.