watery

watery — adjective

1. containing a noticeable amount of water, or soaked through with water

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

containing a noticeable amount of water, or soaked through with water

Example

After the storm, a watery layer of mud covered the garden path.

watery layer — describes a thin covering of water mixed with dirt

Eshe's eyes became watery as she sliced the fresh onions.

watery eyes — describes body fluids (tears)

Common collocations
  • watery eyes
  • watery substance
  • watery liquid
  • watery mixture
  • watery mud
Synonyms
  • wet

    more general term; describes any surface or object covered with liquid

  • soggy

    suggests something has absorbed water and become soft or heavy, often unpleasant

  • waterlogged

    stronger, implies saturation to the point of being heavy or unusable

Antonyms
  • dry

    free from water or moisture

  • arid

    extremely dry, especially of land or climate

Usage Note

The subject is usually a liquid, a body fluid such as tears, or a surface that is visibly wet. Distinguish from sense 2 (WEAK TASTE), which is limited to food and drink.

Common Mistakes

The towel is watery after swimming.
The towel is wet after swimming.
'watery' describes something that contains water as a visible component (soup, eyes, liquid), not something whose surface is simply wet.
The grass is watery this morning.
The grass is wet / dewy this morning.
'watery' is not used for outdoor moisture from dew or rain.

2. having too much water added, so the natural flavour is lost or becomes very mild

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

having too much water added, so the natural flavour is lost or becomes very mild

Example

Noa poured the watery soup back into the pot to add more seasoning.

watery soup — describes food with too much water and weak flavour

The coffee was so watery that Quinn could see the bottom of the white cup.

so watery that — emphasises the degree of dilution

Common collocations
  • watery soup
  • watery coffee
  • watery sauce
  • watery juice
  • watery stew
  • watery beer
Synonyms
  • diluted

    more formal; describes a mixture where water or another liquid has been added

  • thin

    focuses on runny consistency rather than lost flavour

  • bland

    describes lack of flavour generally, not necessarily from added water

Antonyms

Usage Note

Only applies to food and drink. Commonly used with soup, coffee, sauce, juice, stew — any edible item whose expected taste has been lost through dilution.

Common Mistakes

The chicken meat tasted watery.
The chicken meat tasted bland / tasteless.
'watery' describes the texture of liquid or semi-liquid foods (soup, sauce, juice), not the flavour of solid meat.

3. lacking strength or depth of colour, so that the shade appears pale, thin, or fa

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

lacking strength or depth of colour, so that the shade appears pale, thin, or faded — for example, weak sunlight on a grey day, or paint that has been thinned too much

Example

A watery winter sun hung low in the grey sky all afternoon.

watery sun — describes weak, pale sunlight

Saira mixed too much water into the paint and ended up with a watery blue.

Common collocations
  • watery sun
  • watery light
  • watery blue
  • watery colours
  • watery sky
Synonyms
  • pale

    most common alternative; can describe any colour lacking depth

  • washed-out

    informal; suggests colour has faded from its original intensity

  • faint

    very weak in colour, almost not visible

Antonyms
  • vivid

    bright and strong in colour

  • deep

    rich and intense in colour tone

  • rich

    full of colour, not pale or thin

Usage Note

Applies mainly to sunlight, sky colours, and paint. The meaning extends the physical idea of watery (thin, lacking substance) into the domain of visual intensity. Does not describe fabric colours — use 'pale' or 'faded' instead.

Common Mistakes

She wore a watery blue dress.
She wore a pale blue dress.
'watery' for colour is natural with light, sky, and paint; for clothing use 'pale' or 'faded.'
The sunset was watery today.
The sunset colours were pale today.
'watery' modifies the light or colour itself, not the whole scene.

Word family

  • water
    nounA1
  • water
    verbA2
  • waterproof
    adjectiveB1
  • watered
    adjectiveB2
  • waterless
    adjectiveC1
  • watering
    nounB2
  • watercourse
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Watery, wet, soggy, and diluted all describe the presence of liquid, but they differ in emphasis. 'Wet' is the most general term, describing any surface or object covered with or soaked in liquid; you can have wet clothes, wet hair, or a wet road. 'Watery' is more specific — it suggests that something either contains a lot of water or that water is the main visible component, such as watery eyes, a watery substance, or watery mud. 'Soggy' describes something that has absorbed too much liquid and become soft, heavy, or unpleasant, usually applied to food (soggy bread, soggy cereal) or ground (soggy field after rain). 'Diluted' focuses on a mixture where too much water or another liquid has been added, weakening the original strength or concentration (diluted juice, diluted shampoo). For example: 'His socks were wet from walking through the puddle' vs. 'A watery liquid dripped from the cloth' vs. 'The toast turned soggy in the milk' vs. 'The medicine tasted like diluted syrup.'

watery ↗wet ↗soggydiluted

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • extremely watery
  • somewhat watery
  • a bit watery
  • thin and watery

Phrases

  • watery and tasteless
  • thin and watery
  • watery and weak

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Watery comes from the Old English word 'wæterig', formed by adding the suffix '-ig' (which later became modern '-y', meaning 'full of' or 'like') to 'wæter' (water). The core meaning of 'containing or resembling water' has remained stable for over a thousand years. The more figurative senses — food lacking flavour because of too much water, and colours lacking depth — developed in later centuries as natural extensions of the idea of thinness and weakness associated with excess water.