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

Relevance

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

Some top sellers in personal care include the cult classic Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner sets, Gilette's clean-shaving ComfortGlide razors, and Colgate Optic White toothpaste for a brighter smile.

— ABC News, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026
After finally shaving his beard off, Colbert concluded the interview by gifting Kimmel something special from his show.

— Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of shaving

Verb

Upgrading to the Thrust Variant requires a $245,000 follow-up payment and adds SpaceX cold-gas rear thrusters alongside an active multi-mode fan system for downforce, cutting acceleration down to under a second.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
And by cutting China off, Washington gave Beijing every reason to build its own alternatives.

— Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 16 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

Rather than trimming that weight, Fukushima's lab asked whether anything needed to be worn at all.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2026
Spectator interference became the ruling, and Volpe was awarded an RBI double that scored Lombard from first base, trimming Tampa Bay's lead to 4-3.

— ABC News, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of trimming

Verb

However, Rays first baseman Yandy Díaz broke through, ripping a leadoff double into the left-center gap for the team’s first baserunner of the game.

— Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Assumed to be overseas in Dubai, UAE for the past few years, the 75-year old is accused of ripping California banks off to the tune of more than $29 million starting in 2017.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 Oct. 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

The city of Hollywood hosted a public meeting to give residents an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about Amendment 3, a ballot proposal aimed at drastically slashing property taxes.

— Ted Scouten, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
McAvoy missed the first six games of the season as punishment for slashing Buffalo’s Zach Benson late in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs last season when the Bruins got eliminated.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of slashing

Browse Nearby Words

sheared

shearing

shears

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Shearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shearing. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of shearing

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes