wears (away)

verb

present tense third-person singular of wear (away)
as in washes out

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wears (away)
  1. washes out
  2. erodes
  3. undermines
  4. deteriorates
  5. scours
  6. weakens
Verb
  • Fertilizer Because of the frequent watering, which washes out nutrients, potted peppers need more fertilizer than garden plants.
    — Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 24 June 2026
  • If the caffeine has already moved further along, doctors may use a laxative or a gastric lavage, which washes out the stomach through a tube.
    — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 11 June 2026
Definition of washes out
Verb
  • Without that know-how, the investment sits idle and erodes unseen.
    — Kerry Huang, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
  • As the heat dome erodes over the course of this week, the upper atmosphere begins to level out.
    — Sean Macaday July 6, Sacbee.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of erodes
Verb
  • Najmi’s dual role as a lawyer practicing before city judges and as chair of the screening committee creates at least the appearance of a conflict of interest that undermines the very purpose of the committee’s existence.
    — Christian Browne, New York Daily News, 18 July 2026
  • Reducing legitimate scientific disagreement to accusations of prejudice undermines that effort.
    — Torie Bosch, STAT, 18 July 2026
Definition of undermines
Verb
  • In Gosha’s case, that involves getting mixed up with gangsters at a seedy nightclub, a sequence that quickly deteriorates from being mildly comical to sinister to outright terrifying by even degrees.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2026
  • Teams remain busy while the quality of decisions quietly deteriorates.
    — Gerald J. Leonard, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of deteriorates
Verb
  • This story’s author, StyleCaster contributing writer Jessie Quinn, scours the internet for the best of the best to ensure readers walk away with items recommended by our team, industry experts, and more.
    — Jessie Quinn, StyleCaster, 15 July 2026
Definition of scours
Verb
  • That weakens the case for mediation as protection without producing a replacement, which is why Qatar will keep it rather than trade it.
    — Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 18 July 2026
  • As the rest of the world buys its assets, the reserve currency is structurally overvalued and weakens competitiveness.
    — Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, Fortune, 17 July 2026
Definition of weakens
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.

Browse Nearby Words

wears
wears (away)
wears down
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wears (away).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wears%20%28away%29. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of stalwart

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All