watery C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈwɔ.tɚ.i/ UK /ˈwɔː.tər.i/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj containing, resembling, or diluted with water; weak or pale The soup was thin and watery, with little flavor. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · containing, resembling, or... aqueouswetdilutedweakthininsipidpalerunny ↔ Opposites drythickconcentratedstrong Word family Derived forms wateriness Related forms waterwaterlogged Etymology AI details From water (Old English wæter, from Proto-Germanic *watōr) plus the adjective-forming suffix -y. wæter Old English *watōr Proto-Germanic *wódr̥ Proto-Indo-European View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # watery **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈwɔ.tɚ.i/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈwɔː.tər.i/ ## Meanings 1. containing, resembling, or diluted with water; weak or pale ## Examples - The soup was thin and watery, with little flavor. ## Synonyms - aqueous - wet - diluted - weak - thin - insipid - pale - runny ## Antonyms - dry - thick - concentrated - strong ## Derived Forms - wateriness ## Related Forms - water - waterlogged ## Roots and Affixes - Root: wæter - Root: *watōr - Root: *wódr̥ ## Etymology From water (Old English wæter, from Proto-Germanic *watōr) plus the adjective-forming suffix -y. ## AI Etymology Watery comes from water (Old English wæter, from Proto-Germanic *watōr) plus the adjective-forming suffix -y. In current use it is an adjective meaning "containing, resembling, or diluted with water; weak or pale". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Old English wæter, Proto-Germanic *watōr, and Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥. Related English forms include water and waterlogged. A derived form is wateriness. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown