dowse

/daʊz/ (bre, ipa) · /daʊz/ (ame, ipa)

dowse — verb

  • dowsepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • dowseshe / she / it
  • dowsedpast simple
  • dowsing-ing form

1. to try to locate water or metal below the ground with a rod that people believe

1.動詞及物 / 不及物C2
釋義

to try to locate water or metal below the ground with a rod that people believe will twitch or bend near it.

例句

Noor dowsed across the dry field, hoping to find water for the sheep.

dowse for water in farmland

Otis hired a dowser to dowse the hillside before drilling a new well.

dowse + place before drilling

同義詞
  • divine

    an older near-synonym, often sounding more mystical or old-fashioned

  • prospect

    broader and more technical; not limited to rod-based searching

  • survey

    more systematic and scientific than dowse

文法句型

dowse for water

dowse + place + for + mineral

用法筆記

Often followed by for when naming what is being sought. The object, when there is one, is usually the land or area being tested rather than the water or mineral itself.

常見錯誤

❌The farmer dowsed for a new well with a shovel.
✅The farmer dowsed for a new well with a forked rod.
💡this sense specifically refers to searching with a divining rod, not ordinary digging.

2. to splash enough liquid onto something or someone to leave it thoroughly wet, or

2.動詞及物C1
釋義

to splash enough liquid onto something or someone to leave it thoroughly wet, or to make a flame or lamp go out.

例句

Mauricio dowsed the campfire with two buckets of lake water.

dowse + fire + with + liquid

A wave broke over the boat and dowsed everyone's jackets in seconds.

dowse meaning soak completely

同義詞
  • douse

    the much more common modern spelling for this sense

  • drench

    focuses on making something very wet, not on putting out a fire or light

  • soak

    broader and less forceful than dowse

反義詞
  • dry

    the opposite when the meaning is making something wet

  • light

    the opposite when the meaning is putting out a flame or lamp

文法句型

dowse + object + with + liquid

dowse + fire/light

用法筆記

Object is usually a fire, light, person, or surface. With liquid, this sense often takes with + water or another liquid; for lights, the liquid may be unstated.

常見錯誤

❌The rain dowsed on us all afternoon.
✅The rain dowsed us all afternoon.
💡this sense is transitive when it means soaking something with liquid.