as in shaved
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument
pruned the dead branches from the old apple tree
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in trimmed
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Recent Examples of pruned
Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 19 Aug. 2025
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025
Outside the home, keep tree branches pruned, and as far away from the house as possible.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
Ronan Day-Lewis seems to have plucked and pruned the best lessons from them, too.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 28 Sep. 2025
There are proposals for agencies to be merged, mandates reduced, headcounts pruned.
—David Miliband, Time, 22 Sep. 2025
The fact that the Sherman Oaks crape myrtles were winter-pruned could not have had any effect on flowering since crape myrtles are among those trees whose flower buds are formed in spring or even later in the growing season.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 13 Sep. 2025
Too-large plants need to be pruned forever.
—Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2025
After last year’s drought hit output, tea growers pruned trees early, dug compost pits, and stepped up use of pesticide.
—Tora Agarwala, Reuters, 29 Aug. 2025
Several botanic gardens, such as South Coast Botanic Gardens in Rolling Hills Estates and the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, have tulip and bulb gardens — the Huntington plants them in its famous rose garden to create filler color after the roses are pruned.
—Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2025
Verb
Even if a tree belongs to your neighbor, do not throw pruned branches onto their property for cleanup.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Azalea Along with rhododendrons, azaleas (Rhododendron) should be pruned in early spring right after the flowers fade.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025
Outside the home, keep tree branches pruned, and as far away from the house as possible.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
Ronan Day-Lewis seems to have plucked and pruned the best lessons from them, too.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 28 Sep. 2025
There are proposals for agencies to be merged, mandates reduced, headcounts pruned.
—David Miliband, Time, 22 Sep. 2025
The fact that the Sherman Oaks crape myrtles were winter-pruned could not have had any effect on flowering since crape myrtles are among those trees whose flower buds are formed in spring or even later in the growing season.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 13 Sep. 2025
Too-large plants need to be pruned forever.
—Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2025
After last year’s drought hit output, tea growers pruned trees early, dug compost pits, and stepped up use of pesticide.
—Tora Agarwala, Reuters, 29 Aug. 2025
Several botanic gardens, such as South Coast Botanic Gardens in Rolling Hills Estates and the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, have tulip and bulb gardens — the Huntington plants them in its famous rose garden to create filler color after the roses are pruned.
—Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pruned
Verb
-
During their journey, their time for climbing Colorado’s 53 14ers—a mere 33 days—shaved more than 21 days from the previous speed record.—
Outside,
Outside,
25 Sep. 2025
-
The fallout, which sparked criticisms that Disney was caving on free-speech issues and drew some threats from Hollywood talent to stop working with the company, shaved more than $4 billion off its market value last week.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The logo, hands, indexes, and rotor are trimmed in British racing green—the color of the legendary car brand.—
Carol Besler,
Robb Report,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Her dark brown bob was freshly trimmed and curled toward her face; the top brushed and styled over the left side of her head.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Vance said one portion of Democrats are making unreasonable demands to restore more than $1 trillion over the next decade in healthcare spending that was cut earlier this year.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Training, professional development, and the Safe Cities Partnership are among the areas cut.—
Paul Egan,
Freep.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
An eyewitness tells 12 News that the drones clipped the crane's cable and plummeted to the ground.—
Jibin Joseph,
PC Magazine,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The moment — delivered by Steinfeld’s character Mary on a humid New Orleans train platform — was clipped, memed and replayed across TikTok, igniting think pieces and parodies alike.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pruned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pruned. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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