as in grinding
to reduce to fine particles
bray the seeds using a mortar and pestle
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Recent Examples of braying
Vanessa Bonet of the installation art group Dedo Vabo watched over a mission-control monitor deck, as the buzzing craft climbed into room full of braying hippos in rumpled suits.
—
Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
The first of the three legs in an inaugural fundraiser called the Wagora Bike Ride unspools along rocky red clay roads and through rutted jeep tracks, past braying herds of zebra and startled warthogs.
—Tom Vanderbilt, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Mar. 2026
The need to placate a braying mob of X posters desperate to see Lemon in chains does not constitute an emergency.
—Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
Shortly after the New Year's ball drops (only once) in New York City, the Zohran Mamdani era will begin in the Big Apple and the political horses will be braying at the gates to start the 2026 midterm election season in earnest.
—James Powel, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
The cool, quiet spring air is punctuated only by Kasbah’s small pack of mules braying nearby, and the tinkling of the riad’s fountain.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 10 Oct. 2025
As the insignias are cut off his uniform and his sword broken, Dreyfus (played by Louis Garrel) loudly declares his innocence, both to his brothers-in-arms and to the braying public outside the gates.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2025
Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
The first of the three legs in an inaugural fundraiser called the Wagora Bike Ride unspools along rocky red clay roads and through rutted jeep tracks, past braying herds of zebra and startled warthogs.
—Tom Vanderbilt, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Mar. 2026
The need to placate a braying mob of X posters desperate to see Lemon in chains does not constitute an emergency.
—Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
Shortly after the New Year's ball drops (only once) in New York City, the Zohran Mamdani era will begin in the Big Apple and the political horses will be braying at the gates to start the 2026 midterm election season in earnest.
—James Powel, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
The cool, quiet spring air is punctuated only by Kasbah’s small pack of mules braying nearby, and the tinkling of the riad’s fountain.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 10 Oct. 2025
As the insignias are cut off his uniform and his sword broken, Dreyfus (played by Louis Garrel) loudly declares his innocence, both to his brothers-in-arms and to the braying public outside the gates.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for braying
Verb
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Nine crucial years of expansion and solidification of the pernicious institution went by, speeding the nation’s road toward a grinding war.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
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After more than four years, Russia’s full-scale invasion has morphed into a grinding war of attrition where soldiers are being killed en masse, financial losses are piling up and Kyiv has started to liberate more land than Moscow has seized.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
Verb
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The segments that follow Bonnier de La Chapelle are admittedly more successful and sophisticated, bringing to mind the heart-pounding essence of a Costa-Gavras political thriller.—
Tomris Laffly,
Variety,
25 May 2026
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Moore and Kaveon Jackson took turns pounding the ball on the ground and then Nordman hit Moore with the big touchdown from 15 yards out that set off a wild DeLand celebration on the Bulldogs’ sideline.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
23 May 2026
Verb
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That legacy includes crushing both hyperinflation and the Maoist insurgents of the Shining Path, who bathed Peru in blood in the 1980s and 1990s.—
Simeon Tegel,
NPR,
6 June 2026
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Less than two minutes later, Messi lost the ball near the halfway line and a France move ended with a sumptuous, crushing Mbappe volley hitting the back of the net.—
Will Jeanes,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
Verb
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As shoppers gear up for their European summer sojourns, brands are beating the tourist rush and setting up shop across the continent with temporary seasonal stores, beach club pop-ups and limited-time activations to capture the attention and dollars of the high-spending set.—
Madeleine Schulz,
Vogue,
8 June 2026
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Fujimori, daughter of a disgraced former president, and Sánchez, an ally of an imprisoned ex-president, were on the runoff’s ballot after beating 33 other candidates in the vote in April, but neither earned even 20% of support.—
Franklin Briceño,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Braying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/braying. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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