2026

Threadbare

//ˈθɹɛdbɛə//

Definitions

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.
His life vvas nigh vnto deaths dore yplaſte, / And thred-bare cote, and cobled ſhoes hee vvare, […]
2
In poor condition; damaged, shabby; also, poorly equipped or provided for, inadequate, meagre, scanty.
Welth and wyt, I say, be so threde bare worne, / That all is without measure, and fer beyonde the mone.
Similar
awanting deficient dismal
3
Of an argument, excuse, etc.: used so often that it is no longer effective or interesting; banal, clichéd, trite.
Similar
banal bromidic quotidian
Opposite
fresh

Word Origin

PIE word *bʰosós From Middle English thred-bar, thred-bare (“of cloth, clothing, etc.: worn to such an extent that the warp and weft threads show, shabby, worn-out; (figurative) inadequate, poor”) [a...

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