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
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
The outcome has been regulatory and policy decisions that have winnowed vaccine access and development.
—Stephanie Armour, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2025
As of early August, Airbus had winnowed the gap to just 20 units, with 12,155 lifetime A320-family shipments, according to the data.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2025
During his first five-year contract, Bennett, his staff and the board winnowed down the company’s budget to better match annual expenses and ticket sales, while also creating the Detour series of smaller, nontraditional opera works to expand the company’s audience.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
Despite industry-wide budget cuts and a shortage of doc distributors for nonfiction social issue fare, Powers winnowed the list of 23 docs from over 1,000 submissions.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
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
The outcome has been regulatory and policy decisions that have winnowed vaccine access and development.
—Stephanie Armour, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2025
As of early August, Airbus had winnowed the gap to just 20 units, with 12,155 lifetime A320-family shipments, according to the data.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2025
During his first five-year contract, Bennett, his staff and the board winnowed down the company’s budget to better match annual expenses and ticket sales, while also creating the Detour series of smaller, nontraditional opera works to expand the company’s audience.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
Despite industry-wide budget cuts and a shortage of doc distributors for nonfiction social issue fare, Powers winnowed the list of 23 docs from over 1,000 submissions.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnowed
Verb
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Privates and noncommissioned officers were culled from stateside divisions, trained as riflemen, and sent overseas.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Oct. 2025
-
On Wednesday, the Jets practiced on what appeared to be a makeshift field culled together for the Browns last week, surrounded by trees and not much else.—
Zack Rosenblatt,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Each component had to be soldered under magnification, with wiring trimmed to millimeter precision and excess material removed wherever possible.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Keeping the wick trimmed is essential for a proper flame, reducing soot, and maximizing scent throw.—
Michael Stefanov,
Robb Report,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The organization is also working with ranchers to establish prescribed burn associations to manage the damaging plants and is organizing community cutting days to reduce woody encroachment further.—
Kelli Bender,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Store cut or cooked squash in an airtight zip-top bag or container in the refrigerator for up to four days.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Her fashion was pared-back in comparison to her moody makeup, with an ultra-feminine, Old Hollywood approach.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
17 Oct. 2025
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At 61, Alexander Remus has pared his life down to the essentials.—
Panashe Matemba-Mutasa,
Mercury News,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Kent State was reduced to a single photo because the press was far more centralized at the time, and had the power and the influence to edit, curate, and promote a particular version of an event.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
17 Oct. 2025
-
But as water became scarce in the American Southwest, the allocation to Imperial Valley farmers was reduced, overflow stopped, and the Salton Sea started drying up.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Winnowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnowed. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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