as in sharpened
having an edge thin enough to cut or pierce something
I'll need a well-whetted axe to split the wood
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Recent Examples of whetted
Lauren Frayer, NPR, 14 Sep. 2025
Verb
Exposure to the outside world, through her father's work, must have whetted MacLeod's appetite for travel, Crichton says.
—Lauren Frayer, NPR, 14 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whetted
Verb
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His agility had been sharpened, it was said, by the ballet lessons imposed by his coach at Lucchese, Ernő Erbstein—like Weisz, one of the many Hungarian Jews who shaped Italian football between the early 1920s and the imposition of the Nuremberg Laws in 1938.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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Elliott said that since the office has sharpened its tone, donations have poured in from millions of supporters.—
Brittany Shepherd,
ABC News,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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In Hyderabad, the jump was even sharper, rising from 8 leadership roles in 2024 to 42 year to date.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
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The Southeast could also briefly experience blustery winds and a sharp cold snap, with frost or even a hard freeze reaching inland areas as far south as Georgia and the Carolinas by Tuesday morning.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Whetted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whetted. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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