worn

¹

[wawrn]

adjective

1. diminished in value or usefulness through wear, use, handling, etc..

   The car's front tires were very worn, with little tread left.

2. showing a considerable level of use or wear.

   He read his speech from two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been folded and unfolded many times.

3. wearied; exhausted.

   She looked worn but joyful as she held her newborn daughter.

   Synonyms: spent, tired, fatigued

verb

1. the past participle of wear.

-worn

²

1. a combining form with the meaning “showing a specified level of use, deterioration, or consumption”.

   Before you toss that little-worn top, consider if it could be given a second life.

2. a combining form with the meaning “showing wear, deterioration, or exhaustion from a specified cause”.

   The old bridges fit the landscape, maybe because they are as windworn and aged as the land around them.

   The knights were weary and battleworn when they returned to the castle.

worn

/ wɔːn /

verb

1. the past participle of wear 1

adjective

1. affected, esp adversely, by long use or action

   a worn suit

2. haggard; drawn

3. exhausted; spent

Other Word Forms

• wornness noun
• self-worn adjective
• unworn adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of worn¹

First recorded in 1500–10, for the adjective

Example Sentences

Byrne’s work as a struggling woman worn down and on the verge of being erased by the pressures engulfing her is that magnificent.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Thankful he’d worn two layers of clothes, Kingery looked at his now-empty street corner with nothing but the bruises on his back.

Read more on Slate

She has worn a number of designs by the fashion house's new creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli and the visit reflected "her support for his new creative chapter", a spokesman for the duchess said.

Read more on BBC

Teams design their own cooling systems but most are similar - a tank of dry ice through which a liquid such as glycol is pumped before running through a tube in a vest worn by the driver.

Read more on BBC

The school colors blue and green were worn proudly by both sides.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• frayed 
• shabby 
• tattered 
• threadbare 
• timeworn 
• well-worn