Meaning

Of cloth, clothing, furnishings, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show; shabby, worn-out..

Definitions by Sense

1. Of cloth, clothing, furnishings, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show; shabby, worn-out.
2. In poor condition; damaged, shabby; also, poorly equipped or provided for, inadequate, meagre, scanty.
3. Of an argument, excuse, etc.: used so often that it is no longer effective or interesting; banal, clichéd, trite.
4. An argument or assertion with little in the way of substance or supporting evidence.
5. (archaic or obsolete) Of a person: wearing clothes of threadbare (sense 1) material; hence, impoverished, poor.

Example Sentences

His life vvas nigh vnto deaths dore yplaſte, / And thred-bare cote, and cobled ſhoes hee vvare, […]

VVill any Freedom here from you be born, / VVhoſe Cloaths are thred-bare, and vvhoſe Cloaks are torn?

We are told, that an ancient tragic poet, to move the pity of his audience for his exiled kings and distressed heroes, used to make the actors represent them in dresses and clothes that were thread-bare and decayed.

No one stops to question the coin of a rich man; but a poor devil cannot pass off either a joke or a guinea, without its being examined on both sides. Wit and coin are always doubted with a threadbare coat.

Ah! You may look through that shirt till your eyes ache; but you won't find a hole in it, nor a thread-bare place. It's the best he had, and a fine one too.

The shabbiness of these attendants upon shabbiness, the poverty of these insolvent waiters upon insolvency, was a sight to see. Such threadbare coats and trousers, such fusty gowns and shawls, such squashed hats and bonnets, such boots and shoes, such umbrellas and walking-sticks, never were seen in Rag Fair.

Unkempt, in threadbare clothes, with holed shoes and sun-cured hide, my costume is permanent: the traveler, the man from far away.

Welth and wyt, I say, be so threde bare worne, / That all is without measure, and fer beyonde the mone.

Word Forms

• more threadbare
• most threadbare

Synonyms for threadbare

Antonyms for threadbare

Related Words

When Should You Use Threadbare?

Use threadbare when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions