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
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has winnowed thousands of submissions for its Name a Snowplow contest down to 30 finalists.
—
Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
After fermentation and toasting, the beans are winnowed and placed in a melanger, a stone grinder that runs for up to 72 to turn the beans into a velvety, smooth paste.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 4 Feb. 2026
Finally, Thoreau winnowed once again, translating some, but not all, of the list items to his charts of general phenomena, and carefully noting the dates on which each phenomenon occurred in the spaces of the grid.
—Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 2025
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
Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
After fermentation and toasting, the beans are winnowed and placed in a melanger, a stone grinder that runs for up to 72 to turn the beans into a velvety, smooth paste.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 4 Feb. 2026
Finally, Thoreau winnowed once again, translating some, but not all, of the list items to his charts of general phenomena, and carefully noting the dates on which each phenomenon occurred in the spaces of the grid.
—Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnowed
Verb
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Despite the shift away from hunting from the air, many still don’t want to see the deer culled.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
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The Nipah virus, though, has a long incubation rate, which allows the people who have been infected to be isolated and for the infected animals (usually pigs) who gave it to the humans to be culled.—
Nicole Villalpando,
Austin American Statesman,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Politicians would like to believe that rising health-insurance costs result from bloated hospital budgets, physician overpayments, or administrative waste—problems that could be trimmed away painlessly.—
Chris Pope,
Washington Post,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Gaga’s entire dress was trimmed with pleated fabric on her chest, stomach, and skirt, adding extra movement and texture to the head-turning look.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In the men's singles final in figure skating, the NBC telecast just cut to a shot of American Max Naumov, who was juggling a soccer ball.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
13 Feb. 2026
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Catherine’s brother Hindley, a vicious bully whose abuse is part of what drives Cathy and Heathcliff so closely together, is cut entirely, his role combined with Catherine’s father.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And every time stocks have rallied, an equally relentless wave of skeptics has pared those gains.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
9 Feb. 2026
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Passengers may notice seasickness bags placed around the ship, just in case, and some programming, such as lectures, could be pared back if the waves get especially choppy.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The amount taxpayers can write off is reduced by $200 for each $1,000 in income above the $100,00 and $200,000 income limits.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
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In other experiments, Zatorre found that bolstering dopamine enhanced the enjoyment of music, while blocking dopamine reduced it.—
Shayla Love,
New Yorker,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnowed. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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