winnow
1 synonym and 2 antonyms for winnow, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Verb — To blow air through loose material such as grain so the heavier and lighter parts separate.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. verb
To blow air through loose material such as grain so the heavier and lighter parts separate.
2. verb
To sort carefully through a group of things, keeping the good and removing the rest.
“They winnowed the losers from the winners.”
Opposites
Etymology
Comes from Middle English wyndwen, from Old English windwian (“to winnow, fan, ventilate”), from Proto-West Germanic *windwōn, from Proto-Germanic *windwōną, *winþijaną (“to throw about, winnow”), from Proto-Indo-European *wē- (“to winnow, thresh”). It is cognate with West Frisian wynje (“to winnow”), dialectal Dutch w...
Full origin of winnow →