winnowing

present participle of winnow
as in culling
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.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnowing
Verb
  • Melissa Joan Hart is showing off her impressive beard-trimming skills!
    Gil Macias, People.com, 6 Jan. 2025
  • The couple can be seen having a blast as Hart took the clippers and started trimming Wilkerson's beard in various ways, eventually splitting it into three long strands.
    Gil Macias, People.com, 6 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • This could ensure more consistent calls, reducing the controversy often seen in high-stakes games.
    Giovanni Malloy, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
  • State governments, as well as drug manufacturers, provide financial help to the uninsured, often reducing the cost of PrEP medicines to zero.
    James K. Glassman, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • At the same time, Irvine Company is paring down its downtown holdings.
    Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025
  • London time, paring earlier gains after climbing as much as 11% earlier in the session.
    Sam Meredith, CNBC, 10 Apr. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Winnowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnowing. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on winnowing

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!