wear down
verb
wore down; worn down; wearing down; wears down
: to weary and overcome by persistent resistance or pressure
Examples of wear down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Her honey-blonde hair was worn down and loose in her signature waves.
—
Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024
These small but daily digs wear down my self-esteem and self-worth.
—Sahaj Kaur Kohli, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024
Her dad was lonely in his nursing home; Parkinson’s had worn down his body, but his mind was still sharp.
—Rhaina Cohen, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2024
Lloyd whittled down to a seven-player core that arguably wore down last season, losing three times in its final six regular-season games and getting bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament loss by Princeton.
—Bruce Pascoe, The Arizona Republic, 12 Jan. 2024
While his initial invasion of Ukraine failed, Russia has been able to claw back small gains on the land through sheer persistence as a bloody stalemate fighting wore down Kyiv and its allies.
—Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024
But the real scene-stealer is the adorable orange tabby cat named Ulysses that Llewyn carries around New York City (even if the filming experience wore down the Coens).
—Janey Tracey, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024
The articular cartilage—a smooth, shiny covering on the bones of our joints—wears down.
—Lauren Del Turco, Health, 6 Feb. 2024
For overmatched and often isolated older people – especially those worn down by long-standing court battles that require meticulous attention to complicated documents and complex laws – the stress is often more intense, eviction experts said.
—Ethan Ward, USA TODAY, 24 Feb. 2024
Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024
These small but daily digs wear down my self-esteem and self-worth.
—Sahaj Kaur Kohli, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024
Her dad was lonely in his nursing home; Parkinson’s had worn down his body, but his mind was still sharp.
—Rhaina Cohen, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2024
Lloyd whittled down to a seven-player core that arguably wore down last season, losing three times in its final six regular-season games and getting bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament loss by Princeton.
—Bruce Pascoe, The Arizona Republic, 12 Jan. 2024
While his initial invasion of Ukraine failed, Russia has been able to claw back small gains on the land through sheer persistence as a bloody stalemate fighting wore down Kyiv and its allies.
—Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024
But the real scene-stealer is the adorable orange tabby cat named Ulysses that Llewyn carries around New York City (even if the filming experience wore down the Coens).
—Janey Tracey, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024
The articular cartilage—a smooth, shiny covering on the bones of our joints—wears down.
—Lauren Del Turco, Health, 6 Feb. 2024
For overmatched and often isolated older people – especially those worn down by long-standing court battles that require meticulous attention to complicated documents and complex laws – the stress is often more intense, eviction experts said.
—Ethan Ward, USA TODAY, 24 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wear down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Wear down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wear%20down. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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