NARROWING Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

narrowing

verb

present participle of narrow

as in tightening

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for narrowing

Verb

Although Newsom recently signed legislation tightening eligibility for mental health diversion, Cooper argued the changes do not go far enough.

— Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 13 July 2026
Saying as much, then visibly tightening that process with its haulage partners, is how an embarrassing accident becomes evidence that someone is actually minding the shop.

— Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

Definition of tightening

Verb

Parts of northern Arizona were without power Saturday as the utility serving the area initiated a safety shut-off in hopes of lessening the wildfire risk.

— Michael R. Sisak, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2026
Parts of northern Arizona were without power Saturday as the utility serving the area initiated a safety shutoff in hopes of lessening the wildfire risk.

— Ty ONeil, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2026

Definition of lessening

Verb

These vehicles were blocking and impeding fire operations, and several were non-operational and required tow truck assistance for removal.

— Jeff Nguyen, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Florida’s sanctuary city laws forbid local governments from impeding ICE from doing its job, such as by not sharing information with the federal government.

— Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 26 June 2026

Definition of impeding

Verb

Previously, many buildings constructed after 1961 or outside the city’s largest office centers could not be converted into housing due to older rules limiting conversions, in part to preserve commercial space.

— Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 8 July 2026
There should continue to be movement on the All-Star roster, especially on the pitching side, with rotation schedules limiting which starters can participate.

— Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026

Definition of limiting

Verb

In May, Darwin filed a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking the state from imposing the new rules.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
The other thing that’s happening is that the federal government is affirmatively blocking state and local investigators from conducting their own separate probes.

— Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026

Definition of blocking

Verb

Thai officials said investigators would examine the ceiling materials and whether any emergency exits were obstructed, potentially hindering evacuation.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 July 2026
Meanwhile, most workers find themselves on the hook to fund more of their own retirement than their parents did and to pay more for their healthcare and insurance coverage, hindering their efforts to save for retirement.

— Jeffrey Anvari-Clark, The Conversation, 10 July 2026

Definition of hindering

Verb

Because the injection must then be sent (or pushed) to each specific target, the scale of the attack is limited, hampering mass exploits that hit the Internet at large.

— Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026
Authorities divided the area into zones as rescue crews, including disaster response teams and sniffer dogs, searched the region for missing despite heavy rain hampering operations, Devamanohar, a local police official, told reporters.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 July 2026

Definition of hampering

Verb

Similar proposals have emerged elsewhere, including a Florida law restricting surrogacy and adoption agreements involving residents of countries designated as foreign adversaries.

— Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 8 July 2026
Tweet also questions whether restricting domestic production would reduce consumer demand.

— Peter Su, Forbes.com, 8 July 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.

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“Narrowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/narrowing. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of narrowing

verb

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