dowse vs bate

dowse is a noun but bate is not a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
dowse	Yes	No	Yes	No
bate	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, bate is a hyponym of dowse; that is, bate is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than dowse:

dowse: cover with liquid; pour liquid onto
bate: soak in a special solution to soften and remove chemicals used in previous treatments

Other hyponyms of dowse include brine, bedraggle, draggle, ret, flush, sluice.

dowse (noun)	bate (noun)
searching for underground water or minerals by using a dowsing rod

dowse (verb)	bate (verb)
cover with liquid; pour liquid onto	soak in a special solution to soften and remove chemicals used in previous treatments
slacken	flap the wings wildly or frantically; used of falcons
use a divining rod in search of underground water or metal	moderate or restrain; lessen the force of
wet thoroughly