1
as in sharpens
to make sharp or sharper
honed the knife's blade to razor-like sharpness honed his crossword-puzzle skills by reading the dictionary as though it were a thrilling novel
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rubs
to make smooth by friction
honed the edge of the axe until it was amazingly sharp
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of hones
Chance the Rapper, another honoree, hones his influence and charity on young generations in his hometown through his organization Social Works Chicago, which works with mental health providers, the homeless, and public schools.
—
Connor Greene,
Time,
22 May 2026
But Highsmith hones the drama by putting us in Chester’s head.
—
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
Victor Wembanyama hones his own brand of basketball daily.
—
James Jackson,
New York Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Both films revolved around Mitchie (Lovato), who hones her vocal talents at the camp alongside the Gray brothers Shane (Joe Jonas), Nate (Nick Jonas), and Jason (Kevin Jonas).
—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Sep. 2025
To survive a ruthless winnowing—to go from one of about 16,000 high-school quarterbacks each year to one of the 10 good ones in the NFL to one of the three or so each generation who earn the Hall of Fame’s gold jacket—hones certain traits within them and strips others away.
—
Seth Wickersham,
The Atlantic,
8 Sep. 2025
Training also hones employability skills and offers guidance for honing college and career paths.
—
Beth Warren,
Nashville Tennessean,
1 Sep. 2025
Interior decorator Guiomar Doval, a fourth-generation Tanjawi of Spanish descent who studied design in Madrid, hones her Afro-Mediterranean style using north Moroccan materials and crafts in restaurants like Chiringuito in Tanja Marina Bay.
—
Stephanie Rafanelli,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Aug. 2023
Connor Greene,
Time,
22 May 2026
But Highsmith hones the drama by putting us in Chester’s head.
—
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
Victor Wembanyama hones his own brand of basketball daily.
—
James Jackson,
New York Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Both films revolved around Mitchie (Lovato), who hones her vocal talents at the camp alongside the Gray brothers Shane (Joe Jonas), Nate (Nick Jonas), and Jason (Kevin Jonas).
—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Sep. 2025
To survive a ruthless winnowing—to go from one of about 16,000 high-school quarterbacks each year to one of the 10 good ones in the NFL to one of the three or so each generation who earn the Hall of Fame’s gold jacket—hones certain traits within them and strips others away.
—
Seth Wickersham,
The Atlantic,
8 Sep. 2025
Training also hones employability skills and offers guidance for honing college and career paths.
—
Beth Warren,
Nashville Tennessean,
1 Sep. 2025
Interior decorator Guiomar Doval, a fourth-generation Tanjawi of Spanish descent who studied design in Madrid, hones her Afro-Mediterranean style using north Moroccan materials and crafts in restaurants like Chiringuito in Tanja Marina Bay.
—
Stephanie Rafanelli,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Aug. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hones
Verb
-
Put another way, salt sharpens the tomato-y-ness of a tomato.
-
That outside passion sharpens judgment in ways coaching alone can’t.
Verb
-
The nurse rubs circles on her lower back, clucking at the struggle of turning the pregnant body to the side like a lopsided gourd.
-
Every texture is an independent agent with its own membrane in the mix; percussion rubs and scrapes against your attention, while mutating synth patches burble in the periphery.
Verb
-
The Food Processor quickly chops, slices, and shreds a wide array of ingredients for unlimited culinary creations, while the Coffee & Spice Grinder efficiently grinds coffee beans, spices, and herbs for superior flavor and potency.
-
With a range of 50 to 300 kilometers, the drones, all made in Ukraine, are designed to throttle the Russian army’s logistics – adding a new dimension of strikes to Ukraine’s strategy as the war grinds through its fifth year.
Verb
-
Thorn cuts the pieces for his puzzle-style artworks, sands them, paints them, then glues them into a frame.
-
Sawdust sprays as Matt Sams meticulously sands the edges of a balcony railing that will soon be affixed to the front of a house.
Verb
-
That a creditor files an application for a charging order may cause the payor to withhold payments from the debtor until the application is decided.
-
When a citizen files a police report and shares it with Gabriel, the company hands the victim relevant footage with faces blurred.
Cite this Entry
“Hones.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hones. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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