1
dampen sth
及物用法，表示弄湿某物。
The rain dampened the soil.
雨水弄湿了土壤。
弄湿，使潮湿
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
弄湿，使潮湿
make slightly wet
The rain dampened the soil.
雨水弄湿了土壤。
使潮湿或湿润；使中等湿。
To make damp or moist; to make moderately wet.
变得潮湿或湿润。
To become damp or moist.
减少；削弱；使不那么强烈(指情感和非物质事物)
To lessen; to dull; to make less intense (said of emotions and non-physical things).
变得潮湿或减弱
To become damped or deadened.
dampen
Base
原形
dampens
3rd person
第三人称单数
dampening
-ing
现在分词
dampened
Past
过去式
dampened
Past participle
过去分词
It dampens the noise.
它减弱了噪音。
The heavy rain dampened the picnic blankets, so we had to sit on the dry grass instead.
大雨弄湿了野餐毯子，所以我们只好坐在干草地上。
The company's disappointing earnings report dampened investors' enthusiasm for the stock.
公司令人失望的财报减弱了投资者对这只股票的热情。
Her constant criticism dampened his desire to try new things.
她不断的批评挫伤了他尝试新事物的愿望。
及物用法，表示弄湿某物。
The rain dampened the soil.
雨水弄湿了土壤。
比喻义，表示使某人沮丧或扫兴。
The bad news dampened his spirits.
坏消息使他情绪低落。
短语动词，意为减弱或抑制（火、声音等）。
We dampened down the fire before leaving.
我们离开前把火压小了。
表示用某种液体弄湿某物。
She dampened the cloth with water.
她用水把布弄湿。
Not this
The dampen weather made us stay inside.
Use this
The damp weather made us stay inside.
dampen 是动词，不能用作形容词修饰名词；表示“潮湿的”应用形容词 damp。
Not this
The government tried to dampen to the protests.
Use this
The government tried to dampen the protests.
dampen 是及物动词，直接跟宾语，不需要介词 to；中文干扰可能导致添加不必要的介词。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
抑制热情，给热情泼冷水
The delay dampened the team's enthusiasm for the new project.
这一推迟削弱了团队对新项目的热情。
打击士气，使情绪低落
The cold, wet weather didn't dampen the festival-goers' spirits.
寒冷潮湿的天气并没有使参加节日活动的人们情绪低落。
抑制需求
High interest rates dampened demand for new housing.
高利率抑制了人们对新住房的需求。
减轻影响，削弱冲击
The new policy aims to dampen the impact of rising energy costs on households.
这项新政策旨在减轻能源成本上涨对家庭的影响。
把布弄湿
Dampen a cloth with warm water and gently wipe the surface.
用温水把布弄湿，然后轻轻擦拭表面。
减弱声音
The thick curtains dampen the sound of traffic from the street.
加厚的窗帘减弱了街上传来的交通噪音。
使某人情绪低落；使某人扫兴
The bad news dampened everyone's spirits.
这个坏消息使大家很扫兴。
减弱；抑制；使（火）变弱
He tried to dampen down the rumors.
他试图平息谣言。
使气氛变得沉闷；破坏气氛
The argument dampened the mood of the party.
争吵使聚会的气氛变得沉闷。
Use dampen naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
把 damp（潮湿）加上 -en 变成动词，想象用湿布轻拍东西使它变湿；也可联想给热情“泼冷水”，使其减弱。
语域：neutral 常见场景：news and meeting discussions、written reports and commentary 本词条重点讨论“减弱、抑制”这一用法。该义项通常用于谈论情绪、兴趣或影响等抽象事物，多出现在新闻报道、会议或书面评论中，语域总体为中性。日常口语中也会用到，但语气并不随便。
No word in this list rhymes exactly with dampen (/ˈdæmpən/). Happen (/ˈhæpən/) is the closest spelling and sound pair but lacks the /m/ before /p/. The others all end in -en but differ: sharpen has /ɑːr/, deepen has /iː/, widen has /aɪ/, listen and moisten have a silent t and different vowels.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, OCTANOVE, WIKTIONARY.