Synonyms of shearing

shearing

verb

present participle of shear

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

• shaving
• cutting
• trimming
• clipping
• pruning
• mowing
• cropping
• snipping
• paring
• bobbing
• docking
• cutting back
• nipping
• polling
• lopping (off)
• whittling
• pinching
• shortening
• skiving
• manicuring
• curtailing
• stumping

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• extending
• lengthening
• elongating

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

• slicing
• slitting
• ripping
• cutting
• slashing
• bruising
• piercing
• splitting
• stabbing
• incising
• sawing
• chopping
• gashing
• tearing
• severing
• cleaving
• scissoring
• crosscutting
• carving
• chipping
• sectioning
• butchering
• dissecting
• rending
• lacerating
• mangling
• riving
• notching
• hacking
• hacksawing
• dicing
• mincing
• chiseling
• haggling
• cutting off
• amputating
• anatomizing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shearing

The fledgling storm was affected by shearing winds that forecasters expected to prevent it from building into the kind of hurricane that can sometimes quickly develop in the Gulf just offshore. — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 24 July 2026

This easy-care hedge requires shearing only once a year to maintain its shape. — Mary Alice Russell, Southern Living, 13 July 2026

Harryson says to avoid shearing the entire plant into a tight mound, cutting into the crown, removing emerging spring shoots, and pruning too early. — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 16 June 2026

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

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

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