watered down policy

/ˌwɔːtərd ˈdaʊn ˈpɒləsi/

noun phrase

  1. A policy that has been made less strong, strict, or effective, usually because of compromise or opposition.

    B2

    Usually written as “watered-down policy” before a noun.informal

    • "The government introduced a watered-down policy on immigration."B1
    • "Critics argued that the final agreement was merely a watered-down policy that would change very little."B2
    • "After months of negotiation, the minister was forced to defend a watered-down policy against accusations that it lacked ambition."C1

Common mistakes

  • a watered policy→a watered-down policy

    Use the full hyphenated adjective “watered-down” before a noun.

Collocations

watered-down versionwatered-down proposalwatered-down agreement

Word family

water downwatered-down