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drying

verb

present participle of dry
1
as in scorching
to make dry the wind quickly dried their clothes

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fading
to lose liveliness, force, or freshness his creative talents were just drying on the vine in that small, provincial town

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 drying Where canoes once rested beside fishing nets drying in the sun, housing developments and new infrastructure have appeared. — Sebastián López Brach, The Dial, 15 Sep. 2026 Dried ginger has more antioxidants than fresh ginger because drying concentrates its components and makes some compounds more potent. — Kathleen Ferraro, Verywell Health, 15 Sep. 2026 Iowa State University Extension recommends thoroughly drying coriander seeds after they’re collected. — Rachel Gillett, Martha Stewart, 15 Sep. 2026 This award-winning face cleanser removes dirt, impurities and makeup without stripping or over-drying. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026 Bowman also said to skip fabric conditioner and tumbling drying to help preserve fibers. — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 14 Sep. 2026 Colby Ayers of Euless is an avid bird watcher who frequented the Village Creek drying beds for two decades. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Sep. 2026 In 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic canceled his classes, Fernández began experimenting with drying ripe plantains, mangos and pineapples. — Rick Jervis, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026 After washing, the appliance can move through steam sanitization and hot-air drying before entering a 72-hour antibacterial storage mode, which circulates filtered air to help keep cleaned parts dry and ready for use. — New Atlas, 9 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drying
  1. scorching
  2. fading
  3. parching
  4. withering
  5. dehydrating
  6. wilting
  7. draining
  8. desiccating
Verb
  • Only one other spacecraft, NASA’s Messenger, has explored the puzzling, scorching planet that is just a little bigger than our moon.
    — Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Prolonged periods of drought are scorching French pastures, leeching them of their usual lush green vitality and leaving behind parched, lifeless yellow fields.
    — Vivian Song, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of scorching
Verb
  • Jacobs was playing hurt, Watson and Reed missed extended stretches with injuries, Van Ness was injured, Rashan Gary was fading and Nixon wasn’t the same player as in the season’s first half.
    — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Evolving threats While some rules travelers have lived with for decades might be fading, the aviation sector is still dealing with changing threats.
    — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of fading
Verb
  • Many of them, like Tubbs, were refugee Midwesterners, sick of parching droughts and devouring plagues of locusts, the insects descending in buzzing clouds thick enough to blacken the noonday sun.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
  • Alegria also sees wild rice production growing using the traditional Indigenous methods of drying, parching, dancing and winnowing at rice camps in northern Wisconsin.
    — Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Definition of parching
Verb
  • Some reports suggested Bonta’s office sought the negotiations amid withering political pressure.
    — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Everything was growing all at once, all over the place, blooming, withering, and crashing to the earth.
    — Kendra Nordin Beato, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of withering
Verb
  • In addition to air-frying, the Joule also has toasting, baking, broiling, roasting, proofing, reheating, slow cooking, warming and dehydrating functions, as well as settings for bagels, pizza and cookies.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Guidance from Michigan State University recommends pretreating fruit by soaking it in a mixture of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and cold water, and steam blanching vegetables before dehydrating them.
    — Lauren Schuster, Kansas City Star, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of dehydrating
Verb
  • In the fall different flowers, the last of the season, will be finally wilting.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Sinner, who needed the title to complete a career Grand Slam of his own, lost to Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerúndolo from the verge of victory, wilting in the heat of Paris and with no little help from an illness.
    — James Hansen, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of wilting
Verb
  • What is clear is that Keith and Camilla’s search for answers is time-consuming, mentally draining and deeply frustrating, compounded by their grief and not helped by what feels like a lack of accountability.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Condensation water was draining slowly from the walk-in cooler at the floor drain.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of draining
Verb
  • In the Rocky Mountains, years of extreme heat and drought have baked the landscape, drying up streams that feed the Colorado River and desiccating pastures where cattle graze.
    — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Suddenly, pest populations are large enough to make a meaningful impact, and one too many afternoons of 100+ degree weather have begun desiccating leaves.
    — Anthony Reardon, Kansas City Star, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of desiccating

Browse Nearby Words

dry-cleans
drying
drying up
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Drying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drying. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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