WHITTLED (DOWN) Synonyms: 113 Similar and Opposite Words

whittled (down)

verb

past tense of whittle (down)

as in cut down

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittled (down)

Verb

If the war does indeed come to an end and oil keeps falling, Warsh might get breathing room for rate cuts down the line.

— Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 16 June 2026
Courtesy of the Abu Haikal family Haikal said his family’s own homes have been targeted in settler attacks, including having stones thrown at their home, their crops destroyed, trees cut down and property stolen.

— Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 16 June 2026

Definition of cut down

Verb

Buying Al Nassr would put RedBird at the center of Saudi Arabia’s multi-billion-dollar sports expansion, which had been on a tear before the government began cutting back on spending.

— Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026
That means choosing potassium-rich foods that support healthy blood pressure, like lentils and leafy greens, while cutting back on others that cardiologists recommend limiting.

— Laura Bradley, HEALTH, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of cut back

Verb

Evidence in that case showed that Asian applicants with very high test scores were often turned down.

— Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
According to a 2026 survey funded by a high school trades group and conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, 1 in 6 students reported trying to enroll in trades courses but being turned down due to a lack of space.

— P.R. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of turned down

Verb

Photojournalist Heidi Levine was knocked down, beaten, and robbed of her camera equipment by masked settlers in an attack captured on video by other journalists.

— Cameron Peters, Vox, 16 Oct. 2026
Further details about what could be knocked down and what could built alongside the stadium are to come.

— Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of knocked down

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

whittled

whittled (down)

whittle (down)

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Whittled (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittled%20%28down%29. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of whittled (down)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

asunder

Popular in Grammar & Usage

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

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

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

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

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

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

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

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes