as in cut
to cause to diminish gradually by or as if by cutting off bits with a knife
He was sitting on the porch, whittling a stick.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittled
Verb
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People will chew on the Broadway first of an Othello directed and lead-produced by black men—Leon and Brian Anthony Moreland, respectively—and cut their assumptions about that to fit their pre-existing views.—
Maya Singer,
Vogue,
27 Feb. 2025 -
Second half Utah cut the deficit to one after outscoring Sacramento 13-5 to start the second half, but the Kings responded with an 11-1 run to push the lead back to double digits.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacramento Bee,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The net simply gets clipped onto the detector as needed.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
30 Dec. 2024
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The car moved across multiple lanes, clipped another vehicle, struck the outer retention wall then careened back across all lanes of traffic.—
Hope Karnopp,
Journal Sentinel,
15 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The Wild snapped a four-game losing streak, scored more than two goals in a game and at least lowered the rising temperature heading into the NHL’s holiday hiatus by rallying for a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night.—
Michael Russo,
The Athletic,
24 Dec. 2024
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The Wild snapped a four-game losing streak, scored more than two goals in a game and at least lowered the rising temperature heading into the NHL’s holiday hiatus by rallying for a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night.—
Michael Russo,
The Athletic,
24 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The 10-year yield jumped 13 basis points last week after the Federal Reserve pared down rate-cut projections, indicating only two more interest rate cuts lie ahead in 2025, down from four potential cuts that had been signaled in September.—
Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
23 Dec. 2024
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The two pared down their guest list to just 60 people.—
Christine Rousselle,
Fox News,
21 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Whittled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittled. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
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