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)
Verb
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Both of these will amplify that creamy base and give you amped up staying power without overwhelming the floral heart.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
10 Oct. 2025 -
Looking at the numbers, California’s gasoline demand of 874,000 barrels a day is already overwhelming the state’s refining capacity that falls to 740,000 barrels daily after the Phillips 66 closure.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Not even a month had passed since his big sister, Toraya, was shot and killed at an apartment complex in New Jersey, devastating the Reid family and shaking the Timberwolves organization to its core.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
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Oil was discovered there in the 1920s, and the county went through booms and busts for decades, enriching wildcatters and devastating the landscape, until a lasting bust left Loving County a virtual wasteland with no running water, paved roads, schools, hospitals, or grocery stores.—
Mitch Moxley,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The other notable incident of the first half was one person overcoming the tight security measures to reach the pitch.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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Leaper Williams, a Lawrence High graduate who started working at KU at 16, emerged as one of KU football’s most recognizable employees through the years, overcoming a development impairment due to anoxia, a lack of oxygen to the brain, at birth.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And in early September, the company was forced to halt work on a tunnel to Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport due to a crushing injury, according to Fortune.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
11 Oct. 2025
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There is only the sense of crushing defeat, the stillness of a clubhouse that just a month ago hosted a raucous party after clinching the NL East, the questions of roster building to come.—
Charlotte Varnes,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
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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 16 Oct. 2025.
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