1
as in to erode
to damage or diminish by continued friction
ropes abraded by the rocks were a huge danger to the climbers
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2
3
as in to scrape
to damage by rubbing against a sharp or rough surface
the yacht's once-flawless wooden hull had been badly abraded by years of rough dockings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of abrade
Robotic hands: Mounted on the rover’s robotic arm are tools for blowing dust aside and abrading rock surfaces.
—
Ari Koeppel, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2025
My shoes abrade my feet and my shirt is stuck to my back.
—Ariel Saramandi, The Dial, 29 July 2025
Compared to its predecessors, Perseverance uses an advanced abrading bit and gaseous Dust Removal Tool, or gDRT, which applies five puffs of nitrogen to clear samples in a way that poses less risk of contamination.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 30 June 2025
Toshiba and Hitachi have designed robots that use jets of high-pressure water and dry ice to abrade the surfaces of walls and floors; the robots will scour away radioactive materials along with top layers of paint or concrete and vacuum up the resulting sludge.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Feb. 2014
See All Example Sentences for abrade
Ari Koeppel, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2025
My shoes abrade my feet and my shirt is stuck to my back.
—Ariel Saramandi, The Dial, 29 July 2025
Compared to its predecessors, Perseverance uses an advanced abrading bit and gaseous Dust Removal Tool, or gDRT, which applies five puffs of nitrogen to clear samples in a way that poses less risk of contamination.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 30 June 2025
Toshiba and Hitachi have designed robots that use jets of high-pressure water and dry ice to abrade the surfaces of walls and floors; the robots will scour away radioactive materials along with top layers of paint or concrete and vacuum up the resulting sludge.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Feb. 2014
See All Example Sentences for abrade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abrade
Verb
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But that spending has also made the Dodgers and Major League Baseball the targets of growing criticism that money has begun to erode many smaller franchises’ ability to compete.—
Allan Smith,
NBC news,
4 Feb. 2026
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His confession became a lightning rod for frustrations from workers who say AI is already eroding their livelihoods.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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A lot of anti-aging skincare contains ingredients like retinol that can be drying and irritating, but Cetaphil has a possible solution.—
Lauren Taylor,
Southern Living,
30 Jan. 2026
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Cold outdoor air plus active heat indoors can pull moisture from both the scalp and hair shaft, which can be irritating.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Once exposed, that data can be copied, scraped and shared forever.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
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Kgasi makes his way down to one of the vertical surfaces of the pit and scrapes it gently.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Adding onto the wear-and-tear element was that Monday’s game was a back-to-back, one caused by Saturday’s matchup being postponed to Sunday after a federal immigration agent shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
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The suspect is described as a man about six feet tall, wearing a black hoodie and black pants.—
Anna McAllister,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Still, even some fans of the project were left scratching their heads.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
1 Feb. 2026
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Dip a soft toothbrush into the solution and use it to gently clean grooves, being careful not to bend, compress, or scratch the gasket.—
Louise Parks,
Martha Stewart,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Social media outrage, political division, and economic stress, fray our communal nervous systems.—
Rabbi Bruce D. Forman,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Feb. 2026
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Advertisement None of this will work, however, without civic courage inside countries where democracy is fraying.—
Philippe Bolopion,
Time,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abrade. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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