WHETTED Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

whetted 1 of 2

adjective

as in sharpened

having an edge thin enough to cut or pierce something I'll need a well-whetted axe to split the wood

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

whetted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of whet

as in ground

to make sharp or sharper whetted the knife with the grindstone

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of whetted

Verb

The team whetted fans’ appetites by promising initiatives involving Fieri throughout the race season. — Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 26 June 2026 O’Ward’s full-season teammates, Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel, have been joined by Ryan Hunter-Reay, a 45-year-old veteran going into his 18th Indy 500, who won the race back in 2014 and led a chunk of last year’s race that only whetted his appetite for another shot. — Luke Smith, New York Times, 24 May 2026 That whetted her competitive desire. — Matt Le Cren, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2026 British Museum As excitement builds for the opening of the new Geffen Galleries at LACMA on Sunday (for priority members; May 4 for the general public), one’s appetite may be whetted to visit other museums. — Arts Editor, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026 The sheer audacity of the recent Louvre heist has whetted us readers’ appetites for heist stories—space heists, all the better! — Literary Hub, 2 Jan. 2026 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

Adjective

Under Quotidien’s famously flattering lights, Bieber’s signature beauty vocabulary came into particularly sharp focus.

— Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 3 Oct. 2026
Skubal’s command wasn’t at its sharpest in the first inning, with his changeup consistently missing high.

— Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of sharp

Verb

His battle with Stage 4 oral cancer brought the contours of his life into stark relief, sharpened by seven weeks of radiation and chemotherapy.

— Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
Emotionally, though, Proposition 40 has sharpened people’s views of billionaires—as heroic innovators and job creators, or as oligarchical resource hogs.

— Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of sharpened

Browse Nearby Words

whets

whetted

whetting

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Whetted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whetted. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of whetted

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

discreet

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

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

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes