as in grinding
to make sharp or sharper
you need to sharpen your penknife's blade frequently in order to be able to whittle properly
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sharpening
Companies that act early—by strengthening resilience, investing in capacity, sharpening worker skills, and rethinking supply chains—will be better positioned to capture demand as it shifts.
—
Eric Kutcher,
Fortune,
2 July 2026
The attention to sharpening those skills could be paying off.
—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
2 July 2026
In the current midterm environment, these patterns are sharpening.
—
Maia Niguel Hoskin,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2026
Han credits the international team with sharpening his instincts rather than diluting them.
—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
28 June 2026
In sharpening its strategy geared toward continual growth in women’s sports, the Big Ten will consider every idea that comes its way.
—
Scott Dochterman,
New York Times,
26 June 2026
But events in students’ lifetimes also played a role in sharpening their opinions.
—
Eliza Griswold,
New Yorker,
22 June 2026
The warehouse’s operator, Lineage Logistics, previously faced federal penalties over ammonia safety in Iowa and a smaller fire in Boyle Heights in 2024, sharpening scrutiny of its handling of hazardous refrigerants.
—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
Morocco has just leapfrogged South Africa in the African Development Bank industrial ranking, sharpening the urgency to cut costs that hollow out factories.
—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
15 June 2026
Eric Kutcher,
Fortune,
2 July 2026
The attention to sharpening those skills could be paying off.
—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
2 July 2026
In the current midterm environment, these patterns are sharpening.
—
Maia Niguel Hoskin,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2026
Han credits the international team with sharpening his instincts rather than diluting them.
—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
28 June 2026
In sharpening its strategy geared toward continual growth in women’s sports, the Big Ten will consider every idea that comes its way.
—
Scott Dochterman,
New York Times,
26 June 2026
But events in students’ lifetimes also played a role in sharpening their opinions.
—
Eliza Griswold,
New Yorker,
22 June 2026
The warehouse’s operator, Lineage Logistics, previously faced federal penalties over ammonia safety in Iowa and a smaller fire in Boyle Heights in 2024, sharpening scrutiny of its handling of hazardous refrigerants.
—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
Morocco has just leapfrogged South Africa in the African Development Bank industrial ranking, sharpening the urgency to cut costs that hollow out factories.
—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
15 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sharpening
Verb
-
The hike includes the park’s east side on the Grasslands Trail, which leads to a Kumeyaay grinding rocks site and the scenic Old Mission Dam overlook.
-
Those particles may have been grinding in the joint, causing mechanical wear on the cobalt-chromium femoral head that released cobalt into the surrounding tissue and bloodstream.
Verb
-
Dedicated To Making Gorgeous Things Before launching his eponymous brand Artur spent a decade honing his craft at his family’s leather workshops with his father Oleksandr.
-
Avelar is a part of an extracurricular program run by America SCORES Bay Area, a nonprofit that allows students to learn and play the sport of soccer, as well as honing some of their academic skills through poetry.
Cite this Entry
“Sharpening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sharpening. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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