1
as in erodes
to damage or diminish by continued friction
ropes abraded by the rocks were a huge danger to the climbers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
3
as in scrapes
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
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Recent Examples of abrades
Each time clothes rub against each other in the washer, the friction abrades the fibers slightly causing the surface to look dull.
—
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 8 Nov. 2025
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 8 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abrades
Verb
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Confusion emerges as trust erodes Some have applauded the moves.—
Ali Swenson,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
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One gets the sense of a man perpetually drawn to the edge of the unknown, as the boy to the edge of the sea—to questions about our primordial origins, about the etiology and eschatology of our planet, about what erodes and what endures.—
Kathryn Schulz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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There’s another distinctly New York habit that irritates Manville — at the end of the performances, theatergoers leap to their feat, not just to applaud, but to whip out their cellphones to record the curtain call.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
16 Jan. 2026
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Somehow, this irritates Helen even more.—
Sadia Shepard,
New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Meyer helped design a tracking system that scrapes data from Zillow to detect price hikes greater than 10%.—
Jack Flemming,
Los Angeles Times,
11 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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Edmund wears Nike Air Jordans in the same shade of siren red and is pictured on one knee in front of an elaborate altar of red and pink roses and candles.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
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It should be noted that Ruffalo’s detective is unkempt in direct proportion to the way Hemsworth wears a tailored black suit.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Light scratches in just the poly can be remedied with a 'restoring' product like Rejuvenate.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
13 Feb. 2026
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Article’s Torme desk scratches the itch for office furniture that isn’t sterile or corporate-looking.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This particular aspect of the show frays the gripping tone that had been so masterfully crafted from its opening scene.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
22 Oct. 2025
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Conjuring the troubled inner life of a young, beautiful and successful Buenos Aires fashion designer with an uncommon mix of stylistic rigor and feeling, the film frays your nerves.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abrades.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abrades. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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