1
as in sharpening
to make sharp or sharper
honed the knife's blade to razor-like sharpness honed his crossword-puzzle skills by reading the dictionary as though it were a thrilling novel
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rubbing
to make smooth by friction
honed the edge of the axe until it was amazingly sharp
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Recent Examples of honing
Fluid intelligence follows this pattern, too, for anyone interested in honing it.
—
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
Riley kept moving, crashing parties at the Sundance Film Festival and toting the screenplay everywhere, honing his pitch.
—Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
Siddiq’s journey to comedy began when he was imprisoned for cocaine trafficking at 19, finding solace in honing his voice and telling jokes.
—Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 13 May 2026
This was another knife with a slightly less sharp factory edge that needed several passes on a honing rod.
—Jesse Raub, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 May 2026
Linda Jarrett began riding unicycles at the age of 10, and has spent nearly six decades honing her craft, according to Guinness World Records.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
Tech-art studio Rhizomatiks and Dentsu design experts, both based in Japan, continued honing the capabilities as underlying technology improved.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 25 Apr. 2026
The team is always honing their skills, and their training continues at least once a month.
—Ashley Portillo, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
And while creators of such content have access to this ever-evolving technology, tech giants are also honing their internal AI systems to fight the deluge.
—ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
Riley kept moving, crashing parties at the Sundance Film Festival and toting the screenplay everywhere, honing his pitch.
—Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
Siddiq’s journey to comedy began when he was imprisoned for cocaine trafficking at 19, finding solace in honing his voice and telling jokes.
—Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 13 May 2026
This was another knife with a slightly less sharp factory edge that needed several passes on a honing rod.
—Jesse Raub, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 May 2026
Linda Jarrett began riding unicycles at the age of 10, and has spent nearly six decades honing her craft, according to Guinness World Records.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
Tech-art studio Rhizomatiks and Dentsu design experts, both based in Japan, continued honing the capabilities as underlying technology improved.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 25 Apr. 2026
The team is always honing their skills, and their training continues at least once a month.
—Ashley Portillo, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
And while creators of such content have access to this ever-evolving technology, tech giants are also honing their internal AI systems to fight the deluge.
—ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for honing
Verb
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And while a $3,000 mattress or a 22-step wind-down routine may look like the answer to your sleepless nights, the real answer is likely to be far more accessible, like keeping a consistent sleep-wake schedule and sharpening your sleep hygiene.—
Sharon Brandwein,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
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Before sharpening, always disconnect the spark plug and safely remove the blade using gloves and a wood block.—
Helena Madden,
Martha Stewart,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Speaking of harnesses, fliers put on a base layer like compression shorts to protect from rubbing, and costume designer Ryan Park designed clothes to hide and accommodate the harnesses.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
-
Cholowsky wrapped both his arms around the boy and lowered his head onto the crown of the blue helmet, absentmindedly rubbing his back.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Nine crucial years of expansion and solidification of the pernicious institution went by, speeding the nation’s road toward a grinding war.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
After more than four years, Russia’s full-scale invasion has morphed into a grinding war of attrition where soldiers are being killed en masse, financial losses are piling up and Kyiv has started to liberate more land than Moscow has seized.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Another highlight of my visit was experiencing Bastien's Manicure, an in-spa collaboration with nail-care specialists Bastien Gonzalez, which pairs meticulous cuticle work and a thorough massage with a natural nail-polishing technique that eliminates the need for nail polish entirely.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 May 2026
-
There’s the difficulty of sintering and polishing the ceramic, and then there’s maintaining the purity of the look.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Investigators have not yet revealed a motive for the shooting and said that a case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for filing consideration.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
31 May 2026
-
His victory over Blue Cross/Blue Shield allowed 30 other women to be treated with the procedure without filing suit.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Inside the one that serves as Lestat’s luxe tour bus, someone is sanding down his wooden coffin.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
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By contrast, the years since then saw game designers formalizing language around the craft, focusing on sanding off rough edges, and holding the player’s hand to make sure no player had a bad experience because of an edge case.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
19 May 2026
Verb
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For appliances and fixtures such as faucets, start by sprinkling baking soda onto a damp rag, and buffing the stainless steel gently to clean and brighten.—
Alexandra Kelly,
Martha Stewart,
11 May 2026
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Keep one slightly damp microfiber cloth for cleaning and one dry microfiber cloth for buffing.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Sacbee.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Honing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/honing. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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