1
as in shaving
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument
it took almost a week to shear all the wool off the flock of sheep
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slicing
to penetrate with a sharp edge (as a knife)
the shark's razor-sharp teeth sheared the swimmer's flesh right down to the bone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shearing
In that 1964 work, Ono sat still on a stage, a pair of scissors beside her, as audience members took turns shearing her clothing.
—
Julie L. Belcove, Architectural Digest, 12 June 2026
That increases a rising air motion that tends to drop shearing winds over the Atlantic that can disrupt the structure of tropical cyclones.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 25 Mar. 2026
The plants bloom in late spring and early summer and can be encouraged to bloom again by shearing the plants back by two-thirds after the first flowers fade.
—Lynn McAlpine, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Mar. 2026
Plus, shearing the plants will encourage them to rebloom.
—Michelle Darrisaw, Southern Living, 1 Mar. 2026
Sophomore Joe Teter enjoyed the honor of shearing Dunckel’s head.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Nov. 2025
The video shows the Amazon drone shearing the wire line.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 26 Nov. 2025
The film reunited him with Morrison, who played the head of a sheep-shearing family business in northeastern New Zealand in the 1950s.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Nov. 2025
Moreover, plastic pulverization produces fine solids; keeping the enzyme in contact with all surfaces without shearing it to inactivity is an active research topic.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
Julie L. Belcove, Architectural Digest, 12 June 2026
That increases a rising air motion that tends to drop shearing winds over the Atlantic that can disrupt the structure of tropical cyclones.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 25 Mar. 2026
The plants bloom in late spring and early summer and can be encouraged to bloom again by shearing the plants back by two-thirds after the first flowers fade.
—Lynn McAlpine, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Mar. 2026
Plus, shearing the plants will encourage them to rebloom.
—Michelle Darrisaw, Southern Living, 1 Mar. 2026
Sophomore Joe Teter enjoyed the honor of shearing Dunckel’s head.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Nov. 2025
The video shows the Amazon drone shearing the wire line.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 26 Nov. 2025
The film reunited him with Morrison, who played the head of a sheep-shearing family business in northeastern New Zealand in the 1950s.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Nov. 2025
Moreover, plastic pulverization produces fine solids; keeping the enzyme in contact with all surfaces without shearing it to inactivity is an active research topic.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shearing
Verb
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The researchers estimated that those who got neither bright days nor dark nights were shaving five years off their lives.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 June 2026
-
The criticism died down only after shaving off nanoseconds became widespread, making the strategy less profitable.—
Gary Sernovitz,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
Verb
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As consumers looked for other low-cost substitutes, prices rose for other types of slicing tomatoes and cherry tomatoes.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
12 June 2026
-
Bake about 1 hour and 10 minutes until set, then cool before slicing.—
Kelly McCarthy,
ABC News,
9 June 2026
Verb
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The lead stretched to 12 before Brunson and the Knicks rallied again, cutting the lead down to five halfway through the quarter.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
14 June 2026
-
What else is going on AI is cutting hours of office work for workers.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 June 2026
Verb
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The prosecutor said Tran tried to take his own life by slitting a wrist, cutting his neck and poking a blade into his stomach.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
5 Mar. 2026
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When Rochelle Luna, 18, arrived at the house hours later, Djerf bound, gagged and raped her before stabbing her and slitting her throat, court records said.—
Elena Santa Cruz,
AZCentral.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Ensuring your porch is unwelcoming by relocating bird baths or feeders and trimming nearby trees can prevent birds from making nests.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
13 June 2026
-
Midfielder Mauricio pulled one back for Paraguay in the 73rd minute, trimming the United States' lead to 3-1.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2026
Verb
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Videos posted on social media show fans fighting, ripping out street signs and banging on cars.—
Jared Ochacher,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
-
Viral videos have shown fans breaking taxi windshields, throwing Citi Bikes and ripping street signs out of the ground.—
Ben Brachfeld,
PEOPLE,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Incidents of planes clipping each other's wings on the ground are not uncommon.—
Christopher Edwards,
PEOPLE,
12 June 2026
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Steve came to Matthew and me with a news clipping about this weird thing that happened down in Houston.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 June 2026
Verb
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On his left, slashing toward the box, was Messi and Martinez found him beautifully.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
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Under the hood, the AMD Ryzen 7 processor is more than capable of handling everyday business tasks with ease, slashing through spreadsheets and punching up presentations with Windows 11 Copilot power.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
15 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shearing. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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