Meanings
drenching1
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of drench
comparative more drenching · superlative most drenching
- That causes one to become extremely wet.
We'll be experiencing drenching rain all weekend.
3 more examples
In its 5 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Center noted that in its initial entry onto land, the storm remains a drenching, windy threat.
2012 October 30, John Schwartz, Nina Bernstein, “Sandy Expected to Be Less Powerful, and Less Drenching, as It Moves Inland”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 Nov 2022They walked me through the dynamics of what made this a particularly drenching storm, why Houston is so susceptible to flooding, and whether the decision not to evacuate the city was the right call.
2017 August 29, Brian Resnick, “Why Houston's flooding got so bad, according to storm experts”, in Vox, archived from the original on 21 May 2023The drenching weather is thanks in part to yet another "atmospheric river" flowing in from the west, as well as an air mass that was particularly moist, the weather service said. Sunday ranked in the 95th percentile for how much moisture was in the atmosphere compared to a "normal" June 5.
2022 June 5, David Kroman, “Another atmospheric river drenches the Pacific Northwest; when will it end?”, in The Seattle Times, Seattle, W.A.: The Seattle Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2022
drenching2
plural drenchings
- The act by which something is drenched; a soaking.
[…] and it contains a very good selection of shrubs and herbaceous plants, which, having good soil and plentiful drenchings of water from a garden-engine all the summer, thrive to admiration.
1859, Shirley Hibberd, The Town Garden, page 53
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
drenching · verb, adjective
- Proto-Germanic*drankijandz
- Old Englishdrenċende
- Middle Englishdrenchyng
- Englishdrenching
From Middle English drenchyng, drenchynge, drenchende, from Old English drenċende, from Proto-Germanic *drankijandz, present participle of *drankijaną (“to drench”), equivalent to drench + -ing.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →drenching · noun
- Middle Englishdrenchinge
- Englishdrenching
From Middle English drenchinge, equivalent to drench + -ing.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Māori kōpironga
- kōpirongathe act by which something is drenched or soaked
Polish namoczenie
- namoczeniethe act by which something is drenched or soaked
Cite this entry
drenching. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drenching
“drenching.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drenching. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “drenching,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drenching.
Source: drenching on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.