as in culled
to remove less desirable choices from a group or list
They winnowed the pool of applicants down to a few of the strongest candidates. I tried to winnow out the options that weren't a good value for the price.
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Recent Examples of winnowed
The leadership of the AI trade has been winnowed down to Alphabet along with memory stocks and the energy/electrification infrastructure suppliers, which are exploiting product scarcity to impose a quasi-tax on the builders.
—
Michael Santoli, CNBC, 23 Feb. 2026
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has winnowed thousands of submissions for its Name a Snowplow contest down to 30 finalists.
—Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
After fermentation and toasting, the beans are winnowed and placed in a melanger, a stone grinder that runs for up to 72 to turn the beans into a velvety, smooth paste.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 4 Feb. 2026
Finally, Thoreau winnowed once again, translating some, but not all, of the list items to his charts of general phenomena, and carefully noting the dates on which each phenomenon occurred in the spaces of the grid.
—Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 2025
These associates would then be winnowed out over time.
—Atta Tarki, Harvard Business Review, 2 Oct. 2025
West Point cancelled an award ceremony for Tom Hanks, after having already winnowed its library of potentially offensive books.
—Louis Menand, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
The museum has closed and the entire Klairmont collection — which in recent years was winnowed down to 284 cars — will be sold by Mecum Auctions.
—Nina Metz, Boston Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
Overnight, this winnowed the field.
—Robert Hoban, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Michael Santoli, CNBC, 23 Feb. 2026
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has winnowed thousands of submissions for its Name a Snowplow contest down to 30 finalists.
—Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
After fermentation and toasting, the beans are winnowed and placed in a melanger, a stone grinder that runs for up to 72 to turn the beans into a velvety, smooth paste.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 4 Feb. 2026
Finally, Thoreau winnowed once again, translating some, but not all, of the list items to his charts of general phenomena, and carefully noting the dates on which each phenomenon occurred in the spaces of the grid.
—Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 2025
These associates would then be winnowed out over time.
—Atta Tarki, Harvard Business Review, 2 Oct. 2025
West Point cancelled an award ceremony for Tom Hanks, after having already winnowed its library of potentially offensive books.
—Louis Menand, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
The museum has closed and the entire Klairmont collection — which in recent years was winnowed down to 284 cars — will be sold by Mecum Auctions.
—Nina Metz, Boston Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
Overnight, this winnowed the field.
—Robert Hoban, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnowed
Verb
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Jacobs is a cultural titan who found his voice in the late twentieth century, and his influences are mostly culled from that era, too.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
21 Mar. 2026
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Old works are juxtaposed next to modern oeuvres culled from other museums and the Guimet’s own collection.—
Jennifer Weil,
Footwear News,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Some of the imagery seen by Ferreira’s character is genuine content culled from online, carefully trimmed.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Just like that, what had been a 23-point halftime lead was trimmed to 13 entering the fourth.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Cavaliers led by as many as 36 points, but the Heat went on a third-quarter run to cut the deficit to 19 in the final seconds of the period.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Reduce the lot size, cut the square footage, and a house should cost less, supporters said.—
Mark Dee
March 28,
Idaho Statesman,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Lawmakers pared back the idea through the amendment process in February, citing concerns that the original language would swell state spending, box out private pest-control companies and create an unfunded mandate to counties, which historically handle pests that threaten farms and infrastructure.—
Mark Dee
March 31,
Idaho Statesman,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Asian equity markets pared early losses, with some reversing into positive territory on the news.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The character, played by Esteban Andres Cruz, has been reduced to a simpering stereotype who makes a pass at a cop and mimics a blow job.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Seen from this perspective, ecology cannot be reduced to questions of proximity alone.—
Manuela Moscoso,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnowed. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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