SHEARING Synonyms: 62 Similar and Opposite Words

shearing

verb

present participle of shear

as in shaving

to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument it took almost a week to shear all the wool off the flock of sheep

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in slicing

to penetrate with a sharp edge (as a knife) the shark's razor-sharp teeth sheared the swimmer's flesh right down to the bone

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of shearing As a member of the mint family, horehound has the tendency to spread aggressively, but this can be prevented by shearing the inconspicuous flowers, which is also done to expose the evergreen foliage. — Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 6 Sep. 2026 Cut individual branches rather than shearing the shrub like a hedge. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 31 Aug. 2026 The fledgling storm was affected by shearing winds that forecasters expected to prevent it from building into the kind of hurricane that can sometimes quickly develop in the Gulf just offshore. — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 24 July 2026 Harryson says to avoid shearing the entire plant into a tight mound, cutting into the crown, removing emerging spring shoots, and pruning too early. — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 16 June 2026 In that 1964 work, Ono sat still on a stage, a pair of scissors beside her, as audience members took turns shearing her clothing. — Julie L. Belcove, Architectural Digest, 12 June 2026 The plants bloom in late spring and early summer and can be encouraged to bloom again by shearing the plants back by two-thirds after the first flowers fade. — Lynn McAlpine, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Mar. 2026 Sophomore Joe Teter enjoyed the honor of shearing Dunckel’s head. — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Nov. 2025 The video shows the Amazon drone shearing the wire line. — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 26 Nov. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shearing

Verb

After finally shaving his beard off, Colbert concluded the interview by gifting Kimmel something special from his show.

— Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026
Colbert had no hesitation about taking the tool to his facial hair, shaving it off and returning to his recognizable clean-shaven look.

— Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of shaving

Verb

Then Bottura started saucing it, slicing it and feeding event attendees who had gathered to watch the spectacle unfold.

— Melinda Sheckells, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
Marshall threw him into space, and Nagy did the rest, slicing through the heart of Arizona State’s defense and racing into the end zone to cut the deficit to 24-14 and give KU a semblance of late life.

— Taylor Eldridge, Kansas City Star, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of slicing

Verb

This change is apparent in the fact that European governments, too, are cutting funding for religious freedom advocacy.

— Matthew Schmitz, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
In a sign of growing staff unrest over the steady stream of cost-cutting announcements across the BBC, some workers made their feelings known on a Microsoft Teams call earlier this week.

— Jake Kanter, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of cutting

Verb

The prosecutor said Tran tried to take his own life by slitting a wrist, cutting his neck and poking a blade into his stomach.

— Sean Emery, Oc Register, 5 Mar. 2026
When Rochelle Luna, 18, arrived at the house hours later, Djerf bound, gagged and raped her before stabbing her and slitting her throat, court records said.

— Elena Santa Cruz, AZCentral.com, 19 Sep. 2025

Definition of slitting

Verb

But while the wider economy has come under pressure, with inflation hovering above 4% and the government trimming its economic growth forecasts, Brazil has also been an economic beneficiary of higher oil prices as a net oil exporter.

— Chloe Taylor,Thomas Da Graca Barlow, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
The hair architect responsible for trimming Lawrence’s texture on Tuesday has not yet been revealed.

— Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of trimming

Verb

The attack sent the Boeing 737 MAX into a nosedive that shed 15,000 feet in under a minute, ripping part of the rudder from its tail.

— Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 1 Oct. 2026
In nearly a third of petitions, beneficiaries requested a detailed accounting of the trust’s finances, which Horton said reflects beneficiaries who suspected their trustees were mismanaging funds or ripping them off.

— Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of ripping

Verb

Gen Z Wants to Go Ghost, Not Girlboss That said, the characters do have to be worth clipping, and love him or hate him, Ryan Murphy has always had a knack for creating fictional people who feel bigger than whatever nonsensical story spawned them.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 Oct. 2026
The sequence stylistically excises itself from the episode as though clipping it, anticipating its excision from the show when uploaded to a video-sharing platform.

— Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of clipping

Verb

But Milei is trying to recast Argentina as a destination for foreign wealth, slashing public spending, dismantling regulations and courting investment in the country's vast oil and mineral resources.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
States have already started slashing caregivers’ pay and other critical disability services in anticipation of Medicaid cuts that will roll out next year.

— STAT, STAT, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of slashing

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“Shearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shearing. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of shearing

verb

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