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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittled
Verb
-
Medicaid is a point of major friction for Republicans in states with high Medicaid enrollment and who oppose changes that would essentially cut benefits or jeopardize hospital funding.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
The Washington Examiner,
15 June 2025 -
The final six percent began with a bad omen as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander buried a three-point shot with 2:58 on the clock that cut the lead down to one point.—
Tony East,
Forbes.com,
15 June 2025
Verb
-
The net simply gets clipped onto the detector as needed.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
30 Dec. 2024
-
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
-
Piper Sandler lowered its price target on Lowe’s and Home Depot to account for pressures on big-ticket spending and tariffs.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
24 Mar. 2025
-
Citigroup lowered its price targets across the banking sector, including Club names Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo .—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The stock rebounded Friday, but pared gains during the afternoon.—
Bloomberg,
The Mercury News,
17 Mar. 2025
-
The design is fairly minimalist, with only a few pine sprigs, a furry blanket, and faux tea lights to create some ambiance; the wet room-style bathrooms are similarly pared-back.—
Nicole Trilivas,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Mar. 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.
Cite this Entry
“Whittled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittled. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share