dampen
/ˈdæmpən/verb
dampen is spelled D-A-M-P-E-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, dampen means “To make damp or moist; to make moderately wet” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dampen?
| Letters | 6: D-A-M-P-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is dampen?
Dampen appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dampen?
- /ˈdæmpən/
Dampen has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dampen.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dampen
- dampens present, singular, he/she/it
- dampening participle, present
- dampened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dampen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make damp or moist; to make moderately wet.
- 2
To become damp or moist.
- 3
To lessen; to dull; to make less intense (said of emotions and non-physical things).
We won't let the bad news dampen our spirits.
- 4
proscribedTo suppress vibrations (mechanical) or oscillations (electrical) by converting energy to heat (or some other form of energy).
- 5
To become damped or deadened.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dampen in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | humecter, humidifier, mouiller , déprécier, rabaisser , s'humidifier |
| German | befeuchten, anfeuchten , dämpfen |
| Spanish | humedecer, humectar, mojar , deprimir, reducir , amortiguarse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dampen come from?
From damp + -en.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).