honed

[hohnd]

adjective

1. sharpened on a hone or whetstone.

   Our julienne peeler has 12 honed blades for superfine cuts that will make your julienne vegetables look like a restaurant’s.

2. made more acute or effective; improved or perfected.

   We finish our degrees with highly desirable, finely honed skills, including how to research, how to work hard, and how to think critically.

3. (of a hole) enlarged with a hone.

   When it comes to the barrel of this rifle, the diameter uniformity and roundness of the honed bore are superb.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of hone.

Word History and Origins

Origin of honed¹

hone ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Like many who defined soul, D’Angelo honed his talent in the church.

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Democrats show no such concern, in part because they have honed the art of casting nakedly political prosecutions as high-minded civic virtue, clapped on by media and institutional elites.

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From her perspective, people who honed good money habits when times were lean are all too willing to abandon those same practices once they earn more income.

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Almost half of their squad have honed their game in England's PWR and all of them are smart, all-court rugby players.

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Hatton's parents made a small gym in the basement of their pub when he was 12, and it was there that he honed his skills on a punching bag.

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Related Words

• cogent 
• concise 
• laconic 
• succinct 
• terse 
• trenchant