Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

frazzle

[fraz-uh l]Informal.
See more synonyms for frazzle on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with or without object), fraz·zled, fraz·zling.
  1. to wear to threads or shreds; fray.
  2. to weary; tire out: Those six eight-year-olds frazzled me.
Show More
noun
  1. the state of being frazzled or worn-out.
  2. a remnant; shred.
Show More

Origin of frazzle

1815–25; blend of fray2 and fazzle, Middle English faselin to unravel, cognate with German faseln
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for frazzle

Historical Examples

  • In the first few weeks my artist's ears and eyes and soul were hazed to a frazzle.

    The Harbor

    Ernest Poole

  • From school she went to college and worked herself to a frazzle.

    The Harbor

    Ernest Poole

  • He'll ketch the thief, for he's sartainly got Sherlock Holmes beat to a frazzle.

  • "Well, next time don't stay till you're worn to a frazzle," she said.

    In Apple-Blossom Time

    Clara Louise Burnham

  • Face the supernatural—and it is beaten to a frazzle before the fight begins.

British Dictionary definitions for frazzle

frazzle

verb
  1. informal to make or become exhausted or weary; tire out
  2. a less common word for fray 2 (def. 1)
Show More
noun
  1. informal the state of being frazzled or exhausted
  2. a frayed end or remnant
  3. to a frazzle informal absolutely; completely (esp in the phrase burnt to a frazzle)
Show More

Word Origin

C19: probably from Middle English faselen to fray, from fasel fringe; influenced by fray ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for frazzle

v.

c.1825, "to unravel" (of clothing), from East Anglian variant of 17c. fasel "to unravel, fray" (as the end of a rope), from Middle English facelyn "to fray" (mid-15c.), from fasylle "fringe, frayed edge," diminutive of Old English fæs "fringe." Related: Frazzled, frazzling. Cf. German Faser "thread, fiber, filament," Middle Dutch vese "fringe, fiber, chaff." Probably influenced in form by fray (v.). As a noun, from 1865, American English.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper