MOISTEN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does moisten mean? 

• MOISTEN (verb)
  The verb MOISTEN has 2 senses:

1. make moist

2. moisten with fine drops

  Familiarity information: MOISTEN used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MOISTEN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they moisten    ... he / she / it moistens   
Past simple: moistened   
Past participle: moistened   
-ing form: moistening   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make moist

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

dampen; moisten; wash

Context example:

The dew moistened the meadows

Hypernyms (to "moisten" is one way to...):

wet (cause to become wet)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "moisten"):

humidify; moisturise; moisturize (make (more) humid)

baste (cover with liquid before cooking)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

moistener (a device that dampens or moistens something)

moistening (the act of making something slightly wet)

moisture (wetness caused by water)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Moisten with fine drops

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

drizzle; moisten

Context example:

drizzle the meat with melted butter

Hypernyms (to "moisten" is one way to...):

splash; splosh; sprinkle (cause (a liquid) to spatter about, especially with force)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

moistening (the act of making something slightly wet)

 Context examples 

Our lips were dry and cracked, nor could we longer moisten them with our tongues.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Holmes opened the case, and moistening his finger he passed it along the shoe.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It warms and moistens the air to keep your lungs and tubes that lead to them from drying out.

(Nose Injuries and Disorders, NIH)

The mucus moistens the epithelium and helps dissolve odor-containing gases.

(Olfactory Mucosa, NCI Thesaurus)

His lips trembled a little, so that the rough thatch of brown hair which covered them was visibly agitated. His tongue even strayed out to moisten them.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

We moistened the parched lips, and the patient quickly revived.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Holmes stooped to the water-jug, moistened his sponge, and then rubbed it twice vigorously across and down the prisoner’s face.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He took the sponge, dipped it in, and moistened the corpse-like face; he asked for my smelling-bottle, and applied it to the nostrils.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

"A Mexican with a knife, miss," he answered, moistening his parched lips and clearing his throat.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I was such a child, and so little, that frequently when I went into the bar of a strange public-house for a glass of ale or porter, to moisten what I had had for dinner, they were afraid to give it me.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)