grinding (down)

verb

present participle of grind (down)
as in overwhelming
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress the workers are being ground down by the long work hours which leave them little time for anything else

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinding (down)
  1. overwhelming
  2. devastating
  3. overcoming
  4. crushing
Verb
  • The media has overwhelming taken Wilson's side, even after the man was proven innocent, and players like Chicago Sky's Natasha Cloud claimed the fan may be a domestic abuser.
    — Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The costumers have done a great job of supporting the characters; the soundtrack music, by Oli Julian, is unusual enough to notice without overwhelming the action.
    — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of overwhelming
Verb
  • The region has already been saturated by heavy rain over the past months, and regions like New Mexico and Grand Canyon were hit by devastating floods earlier this month.
    — Megan Janetsky, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Military force has imposed enormous costs on both Hamas and Iran, devastating their military facilities and killing their commanders.
    — NADIA SCHADLOW, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of devastating
Verb
  • That is overcoming adversity, using your gift to help others.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2026
  • For the Dream, that meant overcoming a slow start in Game 1 against the Mystics before taking control in Game 2.
    — Micahya Costen, AJC.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • Per the Season 4 logline, Dwight (Stallone) fights to legitimize his empire and protect his crew as corrupt politicians, dangerous new enemies, and a crushing personal loss hit from every direction.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Boston is likely to start two left-handers in the series, and the Yankees will surely want to deploy lefty-crushing outfielder Heliot Ramos in both games.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of crushing
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

grinding
grinding (down)
grinding (out)
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Cite this Entry

“Grinding (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinding%20%28down%29. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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