as in exhausting
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1
as in pumping
to remove (liquid) gradually or completely
we drained the water from the tank before cleaning it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in consuming
to make complete use of
virtually drained the country's natural resources
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in killing
to use up all the physical energy of
the long hike drained us
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Recent Examples of draining
Fj Campbell, Fortune, 20 May 2026
Already carrying wider spans of control and shrinking development support, a manager operating against an outdated role definition is doing something more draining than managing a heavy workload.
—Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 19 May 2026
Asch recommends finding a driver-friendly activity to make time on the road feel less draining, such as listening to an audiobook or podcast.
—Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026
Long periods of socializing, like a weeklong conference, can feel far more draining than shorter events.
—Big Think, 28 Oct. 2025
By aligning strategic work with those rhythms, productivity can feel more natural and less draining.
—Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Avni Trivedi, CNN Money, 24 June 2026
Both handhelds sipped power during Balatro, draining the battery at around 14W and 9W, respectively.
—Jay Peters, The Verge, 23 June 2026
Because the plant does not love heat and humidity, grow it in well-draining soil in a spot with light afternoon shade.
—Steve Bender, Southern Living, 23 June 2026
For optimum care, place this peach in a location that receives full sun and has well-draining soil.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 22 June 2026
If your devices are due for an upgrade, Amazon Prime Day 2026 is the perfect time to level up your tech game without draining your wallet.
—Casey Delbasso, ABC News, 22 June 2026
These tides act like a brake, gradually draining orbital energy and pulling planets closer to the star.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 20 June 2026
Other actions to reduce risk include avoiding exposure during peak feeding times at dusk and dawn, wearing long sleeves and pants to prevent mosquito bites, and draining standing water in yards and gardens to minimize breeding areas.
—Christa Swanson, CBS News, 17 June 2026
Water also was standing or draining so slowly as to seem to be standing at a prep sink and the mop sink.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 16 June 2026
Adjective
Others are voluntarily asking to see more patients because the most draining and time-consuming parts of their job are now handled by AI.
—Fj Campbell, Fortune, 20 May 2026
Already carrying wider spans of control and shrinking development support, a manager operating against an outdated role definition is doing something more draining than managing a heavy workload.
—Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 19 May 2026
Asch recommends finding a driver-friendly activity to make time on the road feel less draining, such as listening to an audiobook or podcast.
—Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026
Long periods of socializing, like a weeklong conference, can feel far more draining than shorter events.
—Big Think, 28 Oct. 2025
By aligning strategic work with those rhythms, productivity can feel more natural and less draining.
—Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Verb
Young people didn’t think these types of jobs paid enough money and felt the roles were often more emotionally draining than others.
—Avni Trivedi, CNN Money, 24 June 2026
Both handhelds sipped power during Balatro, draining the battery at around 14W and 9W, respectively.
—Jay Peters, The Verge, 23 June 2026
Because the plant does not love heat and humidity, grow it in well-draining soil in a spot with light afternoon shade.
—Steve Bender, Southern Living, 23 June 2026
For optimum care, place this peach in a location that receives full sun and has well-draining soil.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 22 June 2026
If your devices are due for an upgrade, Amazon Prime Day 2026 is the perfect time to level up your tech game without draining your wallet.
—Casey Delbasso, ABC News, 22 June 2026
These tides act like a brake, gradually draining orbital energy and pulling planets closer to the star.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 20 June 2026
Other actions to reduce risk include avoiding exposure during peak feeding times at dusk and dawn, wearing long sleeves and pants to prevent mosquito bites, and draining standing water in yards and gardens to minimize breeding areas.
—Christa Swanson, CBS News, 17 June 2026
Water also was standing or draining so slowly as to seem to be standing at a prep sink and the mop sink.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 16 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for draining
Adjective
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Days began with morning yoga and consisted of one-on-one therapy sessions, emotionally exhausting group exercises, and experiential lessons like art therapy and roleplaying.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
21 June 2026
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Most of it is the quiet, exhausting work that never makes the greeting card.—
Robert J. Szczerba,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2026
Verb
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If successful, QuantumCT would be eligible to receive roughly $160 million over a decade, pumping considerable federal cash into the state’s effort to build out its quantum economy.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
22 June 2026
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Martín Pérez was on the mound for the home team, a soft-tossing veteran lefty who was pumping in 89-mph sinkers.—
Chad Bishop,
AJC.com,
20 June 2026
Verb
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Treat Infestations Sprinkling a mix of equal parts borax and sugar can help get rid of bugs like ants and roaches (they’ll be attracted to the sugar and die after consuming the borax).—
Quincy Bulin,
Southern Living,
20 June 2026
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Interest in kratom surged in the last couple of years as users have reported consuming the compound in the form of a pill, powder or tea to treat various ailments.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
Verb
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In January 2024, Mansfield confessed to killing 18-year-old Carol Ann Barrett more than four decades earlier.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
24 June 2026
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He is accused of killing a man on March 13, 2022, Broward court records show.—
Sofia Saric
June 23,
Miami Herald,
24 June 2026
Adjective
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But the most mentally fatiguing aspect, the work found, was having to constantly supervise the AI tools, with some employees overseeing multiple AI agents performing different tasks at the same time.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
12 Mar. 2026
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My friend was in course of opening up his country house unassisted, and after a fatiguing day discovered that the only practical bed was a child’s affair— long enough but scarcely wider than a crib.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The City Council pushes back by siphoning from long-term infrastructure needs.—
Paul Krueger,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 June 2026
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Topline Web traffic for Claude is on a major upswing, apparently siphoning some traffic from competitor AI chatbots, as Anthropic prepares an initial public offering and releases a version of its powerful Mythos model to the public, albeit with safeguards.—
Conor Murray,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Verb
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The retailer employs a team of roughly 40 to 50 personal shoppers in Paris, who work closely with top-spending clients and serve as ambassadors for the store’s designer offering.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
17 June 2026
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The department is working to approve requests for waivers that give states more flexibility for spending federal money.—
Alia Wong,
Los Angeles Times,
17 June 2026
Verb
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As an adult, Aemond is vicious, tactical and easily identifiable by wearing an eye patch over a blue glass ball where his eye used to be.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
22 June 2026
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The offender is described as an African-American man between 40-45 years of age, weighing 180-200 pounds, and was last seen wearing a gray/black baseball cap, a light blue shirt, gray pants, and black gym shoes.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
22 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Draining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/draining. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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