to winnow out
1
7.1
- phrasal verb
- /ˈwɪnoʊ aʊt/
:
eliminar
- The college and high school entrance exams, similarly, winnowed out less capable individuals early in life.
- winnow out the weaker
Examples
-
None of this has anything to do with the optimal diet for any individual in the 21st century, but we can at least winnow out some of the really stupid pseudobiological arguments either way.
Blog text (15) -
For heaven's sake... ...don't talk nonsense when it's us being winnowed out!
-
Has it winnowed out the weak?
Blog text (15) -
Those that haven't are winnowed out.
-
Traven's Marxist views of American exploitation of Mexico were winnowed out.
Academic text (2002) -
Think you can winnow out every impure motive by imposing a stricter standard of doctrine or worship?
Blog text (3) -
Helfer and Kroener instituted tighter reviews of proposed cases and winnowed out many of those inherited from the RTC.
Academic text (1999) -
Outside the tropics, the glaciers slew those who had prematurely left their ancestral home; and everywhere they winnowed out the creatures who could not adapt.
Fiction book (2000) -
The dilemma was evident in deciding where to draw the line in winnowing out former regime members and political cadres who also had bureaucratic, technical, or military experience needed in a post-Saddam Iraq.
Academic text (2013) -
The hiring committee used interviews to winnow out the most qualified candidates from the pool.
Synonyms
839
1.9
Refuse to accept someone or something
354
3.4
Remove someone or something from a competition so they are no longer in it
246
3.5
Decide that an idea, cause or option should not be considered
236
3.0
To force someone to leave a place, job, or group
37
3.8
To remove unwanted people or things from a group
20
3.8
To remove unwanted things from water, air, or lists by letting the rest pass
12
4.4
Not include someone or something in a list
9
4.3
To check and remove people or things that are not wanted
8
8.3
To choose the most important parts from a larger group
2
6.5
Make a large list smaller by removing worse choices
1
6.0
To reject or get rid of something no longer needed
1
5.3
Remove unwanted bits from food or material by passing them through a screen
To remove someone from a list of chosen candidates
To remove someone from a group of chosen people, for example a team
Ignore something when you make a decision or calculation
Antonyms
How Excluded
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to remove or eliminate from consideration' is directly derivable from combining 'winnow' (to separate/remove less important items) with the particle 'out' (indicating removal or exclusion). This verb+particle composition follows a standard, predictable English pattern—similar constructions exist in many languages—so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand it.
Etymology
Winnow out comes from farming: farmers would throw the grain into the air so the wind blew the light chaff away and the heavy grain fell back, so to winnow or winnow out meant to separate the good from the bad. That's why winnow out now means 'to remove' unwanted people or things from a group.