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Definition of drench verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

drench

verb
 
/drentʃ/
 
/drentʃ/
[often passive]
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they drench
 
/drentʃ/
 
/drentʃ/
he / she / it drenches
 
/ˈdrentʃɪz/
 
/ˈdrentʃɪz/
past simple drenched
 
/drentʃt/
 
/drentʃt/
past participle drenched
 
/drentʃt/
 
/drentʃt/
-ing form drenching
 
/ˈdrentʃɪŋ/
 
/ˈdrentʃɪŋ/
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  1. to make somebody/something completely wet synonym soak
    • be/get drenched We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin.
    • be drenched in/with something His face was drenched with sweat.
    • drench somebody/something/yourself in/with something (figurative) She drenched herself in perfume.
    Synonyms wetwetmoist damp soaked drenched saturatedThese words all describe things covered with or full of liquid, especially water.wet covered with or full of liquid, especially water:
    • The car had skidded on the wet road.
    • You’ll get wet (= in the rain) if you go out now.
    moist slightly wet, often in a way that is pleasant or useful:
    • a lovely rich moist cake
    damp slightly wet, often in a way that is unpleasant:
    • The cottage was cold and damp.
    soaked (rather informal) very wet:
    • You’re soaked through! (= completely wet)
    drenched very wet:
    • We were caught in the storm and came home drenched to the skin.
    soaked or drenched?Both of these words can be used with with or in: soaked/​drenched with/​in sweat/​blood. Soaked but not usually drenched can also be used before a noun: their soaked clothestheir drenched clothes saturated very wet:
    • The ground is completely saturated: it would be pointless to plant anything.
    Patterns
    • wet/​moist/​damp/​soaked/​drenched/​saturated with something
    • soaked/​drenched in something
    • somebody’s coat/​shirt/​shoes/​clothes/​hair is/​are wet/​damp/​soaked/​drenched
    • wet/​moist/​damp/​saturated ground/​earth
    • to get wet/​moist/​damp/​soaked/​drenched/​saturated
    Topics Weatherc2
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryDrench is used with these nouns as the subject:
    • rain
    See full entry
    Word OriginOld English drencan ‘force to drink’, drenc ‘a drink or draught’, of Germanic origin; related to German tränken (verb), Trank (noun), also to drink.
See drench in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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