1. The act of making something slightly wet
   "The chef's dampening of the ingredients helped them blend better";
   - moistening

1. Make moist
   "The dew dampened the meadows";
   - moisten, wash [literary]
    
2. Suppress or constrain so as to lessen in intensity
   "dampen your curiosity";
   - stifle
    
3. Lessen in force or effect
   "dampen a shock";
   - damp, soften, weaken, break
    
4. Deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping
   "He dampened the strings of his guitar with a cloth";
   - muffle, mute, dull, damp, tone down
    
5. Reduce the amplitude (of oscillations or waves)
   "The shock absorbers dampen the vibrations of the car"
    
6. Make vague, obscure or make (an image) less visible
   "The fog dampened the lights of the city";
   - deaden, damp
    
7. Check; keep in check (a fire)
   "They dampened the flames with a fire blanket"

Type of: blunt, bottle up, check, deaden, delay, inhibit, retard, soften, suppress, weaken, wet, wetting

Antonym: excite

Encyclopedia: Dampening