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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Many of these models are trained on stupendously large datasets comprising material culled from online sources, from which broader statistical patterns can be extracted and discerned.—
Patrick R. Crowley,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
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Georgiadou said that 263 cattle have already been culled and another 13,000 sheep, goats and swine will be destroyed.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Since then her long layers have been trimmed up to her chin.—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Embellished satin tops were paired with low-slung, baggy jeans trimmed with colorful feathers.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Sam Bennett scored with 35 seconds left to cut the deficit back to one but Florida could get no closer.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
28 Feb. 2026
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That deal, which required Iran to limit its nuclear program by, among other things, cutting enrichment levels and reducing centrifuges, took effect in 2016 and was due to expire 10 years after it was adopted.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The index subsequently pared some gains to trade nearly 10% higher.—
Pia Singh,
CNBC,
4 Mar. 2026
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Stocks pared early losses on Tuesday as investors assessed the potential economic fallout from the Iran war, including the impact on global oil supplies.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Fires in the area and a federal immigration crackdown last year have reduced tourism, leaving his 12 buses carrying fewer passengers.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
-
That reduced alcohol spending is not due to price changes, but because consumption is falling, the report said.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnowed. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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