abrading 1 of 2

adjective

as in roughening

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abrading

2 of 2

verb

present participle of abrade
1
as in eroding
to damage or diminish by continued friction ropes abraded by the rocks were a huge danger to the climbers

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in irritating
to make sore by continued rubbing my new running shoes abraded my heels until they blistered

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in scraping
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of abrading
Verb
Prior to snapping its selfie, the rover had just finished abrading the rocky Arethusa outcrop. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 13 May 2026 Pockmarks and brittle edges show the abrading action of millennia of wind and rain. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abrading
  1. irritating
  2. eroding
  3. scratching
  4. scraping
  5. wearing
  6. fraying
  7. rubbing
Adjective
  • For home-office equipment, networking hardware, 3D printers, and other devices where unexpected shutdowns are costly or irritating, the Elite 300 can serve a dual purpose rather than sit unused until the next blackout.
    — Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026
  • That tiny gesture may explain why secret copying can feel especially irritating.
    — Alesandra Dubin, Glamour, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of irritating
Verb
  • Democrats lost the 2024 elections in part because of their eroding support among Latino voters, a constituency that was once a reliable segment of their base.
    — Claudia Grisales, NPR, 10 Oct. 2026
  • That issue has attracted international attention as AI threatens to redistribute national income toward profit and away from wages, potentially eroding labor income as a source of tax revenue.
    — Tobias Burns, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of eroding
Verb
  • Test the plant’s health by lightly scratching the woody stems—healthy tissue beneath the bark will typically look green.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Well, then the sound of television writer Joe Wiseman clearing his throat over and over again might as well be Gilbert Gottfried’s laugh scratching against a chalkboard.
    — Whitney Friedlander, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of scratching
Verb
  • Finish by gently scraping off the wallpaper with a plastic paint scraper.
    — Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 15 Oct. 2026
  • How so much original music, like Sahunta’s, got caught up in this scraping operation remains unclear.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of scraping
Verb
  • Jackson had not been reported missing The man had been wearing a button-down short-sleeve shirt, light blue jeans, a silver wristwatch and blue-and-white tennis shoes.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Temperatures are not conducive to actors wearing wool coats and scarves, and the snow on the ground is going to be added in post.
    — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of wearing
Verb
  • By the late 1960s, confidence in technological progress was fraying.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
  • At a time when the social safety net is fraying and affordability is a midterm-election mantra, churches are stepping into the void.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of fraying
Verb
  • Some of these practices have been reported on before, such as rubbing deodorant against colored pages from magazines to make eye shadow.
    — Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The bigger claim making the rounds, that a few minutes of face rubbing can quiet your body’s stress response, is where dermatologists urge a little caution.
    — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of rubbing

Browse Nearby Words

abrades
abrading
abrasion
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Cite this Entry

“Abrading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abrading. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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