as in selecting
to decide to accept (someone or something) from a group of possibilities
cherry-picked the spacious corner office for his corporate fief
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Recent Examples of cherry-picking
More than 85 scientists denounced the report, accusing officials of cherry-picking facts and figures to allow for the administration’s fossil fuel ambitions.
—
Solcyré Burga, Time, 23 Sep. 2025
Sisters Mackinley and Taylor Hill are taking inspiration from their own lives and cherry-picking a collection of juicy new jewelry for their debut line, Stone Fruit.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2025
Their style is to highlight 5% out of all the film’s reviews, cherry-picking the ones that that are negative.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
Solcyré Burga, Time, 23 Sep. 2025
Sisters Mackinley and Taylor Hill are taking inspiration from their own lives and cherry-picking a collection of juicy new jewelry for their debut line, Stone Fruit.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2025
Their style is to highlight 5% out of all the film’s reviews, cherry-picking the ones that that are negative.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cherry-picking
Verb
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According to researchers at Penn State’s Materials Research Institute, the characteristics of nanotubes can be precisely tuned by selecting specific atomic compositions.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Nov. 2025
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Get the most from your investment by selecting trees that provide year-round beauty.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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When choosing a supplement, look for products independently tested or certified by organizations such as the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), United States Pharmacopeia (USP), or ConsumerLab.—
Nancy LeBrun,
Verywell Health,
6 Nov. 2025
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But that goes back to choosing whether to make the right decision or the wrong.—
Haadiza Ogwude,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Trump did get the jitters, but responded, as The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait noted, not by caving on health care but by ranting about the filibuster, ultimately picking a different way of doubling down.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
11 Nov. 2025
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Kellenberger pivoted, hiking north until the winter weather hit, and picking back up in March 2025.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cherry-picking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cherry-picking. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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