tattered
Americanadjective
-
ragged or worn
a tattered old book
-
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
- untattered adjective
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.
Not so long ago, tattered old maps of Africa’s most remote mining regions would conjure up images of Allan Quatermain cutting his way deep into the jungle in search of King Solomon’s Mines.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 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
Vendors there were hawking shoes, used power tools and watches under tattered blue tarps.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025
Over tattered drum and bass patterns, retro-futuristic crescendos and ephemeral melodies, Twigs attempts to bottle the way dance music makes her feel.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025
There was no conductor or policeman in sight, only an old lady with a walker slowly trudging toward the stairs and, at the far end of the platform, a sleeping bum in tattered sneakers.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
