tattered
Americanadjective
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ragged or worn
a tattered old book
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wearing ragged or torn clothing
tattered refugees
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damaged, defeated, or in disarray
he believes he can bring the tattered party together
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of tattered
Explanation
If something's tattered, it's worn ragged. You'll understand tattered if your dress has been dragging under your car for the last 100 miles. It will be a tattered mess. Tattered often applies to clothes. If you're a nice guy, you might give your coat to the homeless man with the coat that's so tattered it's threadbare and see-through. You can also use tattered figuratively, for something that's in shambles, like the tattered reputation you would have if you embezzled from your grandmother. The word tattered comes from Middle English, from a time when people wore clothing with decorative slashes, and apparently tatter originally meant "a scrap of cloth."
Vocabulary lists containing tattered
The Diary of Anne Frank
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Chains
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The Circuit
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The disintegration of Willy’s mind reflects its cause, the disintegration of the family for which he has strived and sold himself—and his tattered, tarnished soul—for decades.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
But in Tawila, an AFP journalist gathered rare testimonies from five former detainees, speaking to them inside fragile shelters of straw and tattered fabric.
From Barron's • Mar. 22, 2026
In “Vaccine Flag,” a vertical banner arcs gracefully across a soft gradient of L.A. haze, but the banner’s fabric is so tattered and decayed that its advertisement for vaccines is barely legible.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026
He wrote a 12-book series around the character, a British soldier who returns to Cornwall from the American War of Independence and rebuilds his tattered estate, reopens his father's derelict mine and finds love.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026
The band of wolf fur was tattered and filthy, but very precious.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
