Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittling (down)
Verb
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The script is very confusing to read, cutting back and forth between the dream world and reality.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
20 Oct. 2025 -
Consider using a soil thermometer to determine when to start cutting back your plants.—
Benjamin Vogt,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Skarsgård has returned to play Pennywise, a villain that King fans agreed the actor embodied to perfection, after initially turning down the chance to continue the character.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Oct. 2025
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But a chat message from Washington to a colleague, released to KUOW and ProPublica last week through a public records request, spells out additional reasons for turning down Daugaard’s proposal.—
Ashley Hiruko,
ProPublica,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The footage showed the elephant, which may have weighed 10,000 pounds, knocking down a female tourist into the waters with her trunk, and then briefly pinning her before giving up, the outlet reported.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
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Firefighters initially took a defensive stance, fighting the blaze from the outside the building to stop its spread, before knocking down the flames enough for crews to enter the business, which had its windows boarded up because of vandalism earlier in the week.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
2 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Whittling (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittling%20%28down%29. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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