graven

verb

variants or graved
past participle of grave
as in etched
to cut (as letters or designs) on a hard surface the doomed climber graved his initials into the rock face

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for graven
  1. etched
  2. carved
  3. engraved
  4. inscribed
Verb
  • One by one, two by two, hikers climb through dappled shade and emerge onto a narrow path etched into the side of Empire Bluff, hundreds of feet above Lake Michigan.
    — Mike Norton, Midwest Living, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Ten thousand rocks, etched with nearly 90,000 carvings dating as far back as the Bronze Age, make Saimaluu Tash one of the largest and most remote high-altitude petroglyph sites in the world.
    — Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of etched
Verb
  • Slemmer was tortured, a pentagram was carved into her chest and Pike took a piece of her skull.
    — Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The ordeal carved a major hole in the couples’ finances, Reich said.
    — Ron Hurtibise, Sun Sentinel, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of carved
Verb
  • Speaking vulnerably, Sandy tells us about her journey, and she is moved when Aesha gives her a necklace with a pendant engraved with the number 36 and an anchor.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2026
  • One side was engraved with letters, but the inscription was hard to read, the markings were faded, almost as if they’d been scraped off.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of engraved
Verb
  • Since the invention of the Monte Carlo method in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II, algorithmic programming has quickly inscribed itself in most, if not all, human experiences.
    — Artforum, Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Archaeologists excavating Hattusa, the former capital of the Hittite Empire in what is now Turkey, discovered a fragment of a clay tablet inscribed with Akkadian cuneiform, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
    — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of inscribed
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.

Browse Nearby Words

gravels
graven
graveness
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Cite this Entry

“Graven.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/graven. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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