damp
(Slang)
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- moist, clammy, dank, dewy, drizzly, humid, soggy, sopping, wet
[noun]
Synonyms:
- moisture, dampness, dankness, drizzle
[verb]
Synonyms:
- moisten, dampen, wet
- damp down: reduce, allay, check, curb, diminish, inhibit, pour cold water on, stifle

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Contrasted words: arid, dry
Related Words: drenched, saturated, soaked, soaking, soggy, water-logged

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English Thesaurus: damp, humid, muggy, dank, moist, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. damp¹ /dæmp/ adjective
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Middle Low German]

1. slightly wet, often in an unpleasant way:
Wipe the leather with a damp cloth.
a cold, damp day

2. damp squib British English informal something that is intended to be exciting, effective etc, but which is disappointing
—dampness noun [uncountable]
—damply adverb

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. damp² noun [uncountable] British English
water in walls or in the air that causes things to be slightly wet:
Damp had stained the walls.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. damp³ verb [transitive]
to dampen something
damp something ↔ down phrasal verb
to make a fire burn more slowly, often by covering it with ash

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

damp
adj.
VERBS be, feel, look, smell The room smelled damp.
become, get | remain | make sth The rain had made the walls damp.
ADV. very | a bit, a little, quite, rather, slightly Our clothes had got a bit damp.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

damp
noun
ADJ. penetrating, rising
VERB + DAMP have, suffer from The house had got woodworm and rising damp.
check for, look for | find The surveyor found damp in the kitchen.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

damp
adjective
BAD: The summer in Japan is very hot and damp.
GOOD: The summer in Japan is very hot and humid.

Usage Note:
damp = slightly wet, especially in a cold and unpleasant way: 'Our hotel room felt cold and damp.' 'On damp days, we have to dry the washing indoors.'
humid = warm and full of water vapour: 'The air in tropical forests is extremely humid.' 'I didn't expect Singapore to be so humid.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

damp slightly wet, especially in a cold unpleasant way:
It was a cold damp morning.
humid hot and damp in an unpleasant way:
Florida can be very humid in the summer.
muggy warm and damp and making you feel uncomfortable:
This muggy weather gives me a headache.
dank dank air is cold and damp and smells unpleasant – used especially about the air inside a room:
The dank air smelled of stale sweat.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

damp slightly wet:
Iron the shirt while it is still damp.
a damp cloth
moist slightly wet, especially when this is pleasant or how something should be:
a moist chocolate cake
The cream helps to keep your skin moist.
Make sure that the soil is moist.
clammy slightly wet and sticky, in an unpleasant way – used especially about someone’s skin:
His hands were cold and clammy.
humid hot and damp in an unpleasant way:
Florida can be very humid in the summer.
muggy warm and damp and making you feel uncomfortable:
This muggy weather gives me a headache.
dank dank air is cold and damp and smells unpleasant – used especially about the air inside a room:
The dank air smelled of stale sweat.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

rainy a rainy period of time is one when it rains a lot:
a cold rainy day in October
The weather continued to be rainy.
The rainy season is in July.
wet rainy. Wet and rainy mean the same and are used in the same way:
In Cyprus during the winter, you’ll only have the occasional wet day.
The wet weather is expected to continue.
another wet summer
It's been wet all week.
damp if the air feels damp, there is a lot of moisture in the air and it may be raining slightly:
It was a cold damp day.
a damp November morning
showery raining for short periods:
the cool, bright, showery weather of early April
The weather will be showery, with some sunny intervals.
drizzly raining slightly, with a lot of mist in the air:
The morning was grey and drizzly.
grey British English, gray American English if the sky is grey, there are a lot clouds, and it looks like it will rain:
The next morning, the sky was grey.
Then, as if by magic, the sun burst through what had until then been a rather grey day.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

wet covered in water or another liquid:
I’ve just washed my hair and it’s still wet.
You’d better change out of those wet clothes.
damp slightly wet:
Wipe the surfaces with a damp cloth.
The sheets are still a little damp.
The grass was still too damp to sit on.
moist slightly wet, especially in a pleasant way – used about soil, food, or about someone’s skin or eyes:
It’s important to keep the soil moist.
a delicious moist chocolate cake
Her eyes became moist (=she was almost crying).
clammy feeling slightly wet, cold, and sticky – used about someone’s skin, especially when they are nervous or ill:
He had clammy hands.
Ruby was feverish and clammy with sweat.
soggy unpleasantly wet and soft – used especially about food or the ground:
a bowl of soggy rice
It had been raining hard and the ground was soggy underfoot.
humid/muggy used when the weather is hot but the air feels wet in a way that makes you uncomfortable:
Summers in Tokyo are hot and humid.
a hot muggy day
the humid heat of a tropical forest
soaked [not before noun] very wet all the way through – used especially about people and their clothes:
It absolutely poured with rain and we got soaked.
His shirt was soaked with blood.
drenched [not before noun] very wet – used about a person or area after a lot of rain or water has fallen on them:
Everyone got drenched when a huge wave hit the boat.
The garden was completely drenched after the rain.
saturated extremely wet, and unable to take in any more water or liquid:
His bandage was saturated with blood.
The floods were the result of heavy rainfall on already saturated soil.
waterlogged /ˈwɔːtəlɒɡd $ ˈwɒːtərlɒːɡd, ˈwɑː-, -lɑːɡd/ used about ground that has water on its surface because it is so wet that it cannot take in any more:
The game was cancelled because the field was waterlogged.
sodden British English very wet with water – used about clothes and the ground. Sodden is less common than soaked:
The ground was still sodden.
He took off his sodden shirt.
splash to make someone or something wet by making a lot of small drops of water fall onto them:
The kids were playing around in the pool, splashing each other.
I accidentally splashed soup onto my shirt.
soak to put something in water for a long time or to make something very wet – use this especially when something is put into water or the water comes up from underneath to make it wet:
Soak the beans overnight before cooking.
The rain had come in through the bottom of our tent and completely soaked our clothes.
drench to make someone or something extremely wet with a large amount of water – use this especially when water is poured or falls on something:
He drenched us all with the hose.
Her shirt was drenched in sweat.
saturate formal to completely cover or fill something with liquid, so that it is wet all the way through:
Heavy rains had saturated the ground.
flood to cover an area of land with a large amount of water:
Farmers flood the fields in order to grow rice.
moisten to make something slightly wet by putting a small amount of water or another liquid on it, especially to stop it from getting too dry:
Add just enough water to moisten the cake mixture.
Tom paused and moistened his lips.
dampen to make something slightly wet by putting a little water on it:
Rain came in through the window, dampening the curtains.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲