NARROWING Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

narrowing

verb

present participle of narrow

as in tightening

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for narrowing

Verb

Its analysis suggests a CPI rate above 3% has historically corresponded with more than 100 basis points of tightening during the first year of Fed hiking cycles.

— Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026
How Wells Fargo and Truist handle work-from-home Bank of America is not the only local financial institution tightening its office attendance requirements.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of tightening

Verb

Rain chances While there’s a chance for a fourth heat advisory Saturday the likelihood is lessening given rain is in the forecast.

— Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
To push back, Julien Pouille, who leads the climate and health strategic team and is lead author of the report, argues that lessening reliance on petrochemical products would help mitigate rising medicine costs and improve the climate.

— Ed Silverman, STAT, 30 July 2026

Definition of lessening

Verb

Lynda Albertson, an art-crime analyst, said the works are instantly recognizable, impeding any effort to sell them through reputable channels.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
Lynda Albertson, an art crime analyst, said the works are instantly recognizable, impeding any effort to sell them through reputable channels.

— Colleen Barry, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of impeding

Verb

The train began blocking the crossing on Tuesday morning, forcing drivers to find alternate routes.

— Terell Bailey, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
The first of those state-court eligibility decisions, granted in Ohio in early July, was paused by an appeals court this week, blocking it from taking effect.

— Justin Williams, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of blocking

Verb

Birds visiting the feeder can get the goo on their wings, hampering their ability to fly and possibly leading to their untimely deaths.

— Joan Morris, Mercury News, 17 Aug. 2026
Rescuers will use an extrication device and a helicopter, Fathur said, adding that there were no reports of people missing and no challenges hampering the search.

— Reuters, NBC news, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of hampering

Verb

The most direct precedent for a frontier lab restricting a model with this kind of capability was not self-regulation.

— Ashish Bhatia, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026
Hoskins asserted that the measure violated the state constitution by containing multiple subjects and restricting a republican form of government.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of restricting

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.

Cite this Entry

Style

“Narrowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/narrowing. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of narrowing

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on narrowing

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

prowess

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes