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
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
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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With the war in Iran sending oil prices soaring, consumers under even more economic pressure may not be lured back by PepsiCo shaving less than a dollar off a snack bag.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Show off naturally curly hair without as much maintenance by shaving the sides with a close, short cut.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
As she was seen using the cupping-style tools, Frankel appeared to bleed after slicing her face with the device.—
Michelle Lee,
PEOPLE,
9 Apr. 2026
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Upstairs, Polish artist and designer Zofia Sobolewska Ursic is slicing white onyx into ribbons alongside the workshop’s master technicians.—
Sarah Medford,
Architectural Digest,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This is an unsustainable path if the state hopes to avoid cutting health, education and other priorities.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Another option is to remove some of the pups, by cutting under the plants, and gathering the leaves with roots.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Apr. 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
-
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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Start by trimming the tough, dry ends off the bunch and chop them into little logs.—
Jesse Szewczyk,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
12 Apr. 2026
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Get a hedge-and-branch trimming bundle at a huge discount.—
Andrew P. Collins,
The Drive,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Bodega owners are not ripping people off.—
Andrew Ramos,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Like a wormhole opening between the two men, a bridge ripping through spacetime to connect disparate realities.—
Courtney Crowder,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The war for attention has led to a boom in clipping, with some creators vying for a Netflix-billboards-on-Sunset-level land grab.—
Andrew Zucker,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2026
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Such a determination would require new radiocarbon dating that overturns the original results, which would involve clipping and destroying another snippet of shroud—a step that the Vatican is unlikely to allow.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Earlier this year, the board voted for a debt mitigation plan that involved slashing upwards of 70 jobs, closing a historic elementary school and cutting dozens of district programs and contracts.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The company is slashing prices to course correct, but its efforts may be too little too late.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shearing. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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