1
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
2
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
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Recent Examples of shearing
That increases a rising air motion that tends to drop shearing winds over the Atlantic that can disrupt the structure of tropical cyclones.
—
Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 25 Mar. 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
Plus, shearing the plants will encourage them to rebloom.
—Michelle Darrisaw, Southern Living, 1 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
The film reunited him with Morrison, who played the head of a sheep-shearing family business in northeastern New Zealand in the 1950s.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Nov. 2025
Moreover, plastic pulverization produces fine solids; keeping the enzyme in contact with all surfaces without shearing it to inactivity is an active research topic.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 25 Mar. 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
Plus, shearing the plants will encourage them to rebloom.
—Michelle Darrisaw, Southern Living, 1 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
The film reunited him with Morrison, who played the head of a sheep-shearing family business in northeastern New Zealand in the 1950s.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Nov. 2025
Moreover, plastic pulverization produces fine solids; keeping the enzyme in contact with all surfaces without shearing it to inactivity is an active research topic.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shearing
Verb
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There have been scores of game-fixing and point-shaving scandals, notably involving the 1950 NCAA champion City College of New York, the 1978–79 Boston College men’s basketball team, and, in the 2000s, Arizona State men’s basketball.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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Very often, the home seller and listing agent will ask for a very short timeline, removing the financing contingency (the full loan approval), shaving 10 days from the process with a closing in 21 days.—
Jeff Lazerson,
Oc Register,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Let cakes stand in their pans for about 5 minutes, then turn out on a wire rack, peel off parchment paper and let cool completely before slicing.—
Gretchen McKay,
Boston Herald,
22 Apr. 2026
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Quigley snapped a long string of zeroes on the scoreboard, slicing a two-out, walk-off single to right field to score Abby Zawadzki from second base for the North Stars (8-0, 2-0).—
Rick Armstrong,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Vesia surrendered a two-run triple to Swanson and an RBI single to Nico Hoerner, cutting the Dodgers’ lead to one.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Apr. 2026
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Part of that includes 'cutting the pond' using machinery to dig through the sand and allow water to flow in and out.—
Jacob Wycoff,
CBS News,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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Oracle Park roared to life in the bottom of the fifth as San Francisco’s offense finally got to Alcantara, trimming the deficit to 8-3 as Drew Gilbert, Eric Haase and Luis Arraez all drove in a run apiece.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
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Across TikTok, Instagram and group chats, young people are constantly editing themselves, trimming anything that might come off as try-hard, awkward or embarrassing.—
Rachel Hale,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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With two outs and Andruw Monasterio at second following a double, the slumping Caleb Durbin came up with one of his biggest hits of the season, ripping an RBI double to put the Red Sox ahead.—
Mac Cerullo,
Hartford Courant,
25 Apr. 2026
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Images of the fire showed flames ripping through the building as firefighters carried out an exterior attack to extinguish the blaze.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Recently, Kick, the livestreaming platform, published clipping stats from the period of March 5 through April 5.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
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The Jeep crashed into a concrete barrier after clipping the other car, destroying part of the barrier, Adams County Fire Rescue officials said.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Politicians from both parties are slashing rates and spinning loopholes.—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
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The new budget proposes slashing OCR funding by 35%.—
Sequoia Carrillo,
NPR,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shearing. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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