Synonyms of whittled

whittled

verb

past tense of whittle

as in cut

to cause to diminish gradually by or as if by cutting off bits with a knife

He was sitting on the porch, whittling a stick.

Related Words

• cut
• clipped
• dropped
• pared
• lowered
• pruned
• trimmed
• slashed
• shortened
• curtailed
• reduced
• dwindled
• nicked
• cropped
• truncated
• cut down
• retrenched
• decreased
• lessened
• abridged
• abbreviated
• eased
• downsized
• docked
• depleted
• cut back
• dented
• condensed
• abated
• compressed
• contracted
• shrank
• constricted
• knocked down
• downscaled
• minimized
• deflated
• de-escalated
• modified
• moderated
• modulated
• qualified

Dissimilar Words

• swelled
• extended
• inflated
• supplemented
• lengthened
• dilated
• distended
• prolonged
• elongated
• added (to)
• complemented
• blew up
• protracted
• intensified
• enhanced
• increased
• heightened
• expanded
• raised
• augmented
• enlarged
• redoubled
• amplified
• escalated
• boosted
• aggrandized

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of whittled

This year’s effort was initially much broader, but a last-minute deal whittled it down to limit certain local taxes in return for legislators’ dropping a measure that would have required anti-tax measures to meet a two-thirds threshold. — Dan Walters, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026

Those closures whittled the company's footprint down to about 70 locations in Arizona and Nevada, which will be permanently shuttered on Wednesday. — Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026

The Los Angeles mayor is a nonpartisan position, meaning the June 2 primary was not separated by party and simply whittled the pool down to the top two candidates. — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026

The market is trying to recover, but elite collectors seemingly want only trophy works; raging global conflicts, economic uncertainty, and political turmoil have whittled demand down to the safest names. — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 24 June 2026

Next, your votes whittled the field of contenders to the Top 10 picks, then down to the Top 5 and Top 2. — Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 17 June 2026

While previous seasons of South Park have comprised between 10 to 15 episodes, and sometimes more, in recent years, Parker and Stone have whittled the number down to about five or six. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 May 2026

After much discussion, the council whittled that list down to three options before asking staffers to conduct more research before the council decides whether to put those choices to voters. — Victoria Le, Oc Register, 13 May 2026

But the 30 or so deaths earlier this year due to bird flu has whittled the number of swans down to about 44, a city official said. — Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 2026