frayed

[freyd]

adjective

1. worn to loose, raveled threads or fibers at the outer surface, edge, or end.

   I wouldn’t trust that frayed rope to hold anybody’s weight.

   She hid her hands in the frayed sleeves of her bathrobe.

2. strained, taxed, or weakened by constant stress; frazzled.

   We're going to have a lot of frayed relationships coming out of this crisis.

   Candlelight and soft music can soothe frayed nerves after a rough day.

verb

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of frayed¹

First recorded in 1810–20; fray ² + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; fray ² + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

But New Delhi also has worked to repair relations with the U.S. that have frayed in recent months.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Recent state and federal spending cuts will pull dollars out of an already frayed health system, exacerbating the shortage of care and making its efforts more challenging.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But over the past year or so, Beijing and Delhi have been taking steps to gradually re-rebuild the frayed relationship.

Read more on BBC

The city that Tom Bradley has led with impassive aplomb for 17 years is frayed at the edges, with aging sewers and inadequate housing stock.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The show’s promos have playfully frayed fan nerves by teasing, “Anything could happen.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• crummy 
• decaying www.thesaurus.com
• decrepit 
• desolate 
• dilapidated 
• dingy 
• pitiful 
• ramshackle 
• ratty 
• rickety 
• run down 
• scruffy 
• seedy 
• shoddy 
• squalid 
• tacky 
• tattered 
• threadbare 
• worn