tattered
- torn to tatters; ragged: a tattered flag.
- wearing ragged clothing: a tattered old man.
Origin of tattered
tatter
1- a torn piece hanging loose from the main part, as of a garment or flag.
- a separate torn piece; shred.
- tatters, torn or ragged clothing: dressed in rags and tatters.
- to tear or wear to tatters.
- to become ragged.
Origin of tatter
1Related Words for tattered
shabby, dilapidated, torn, threadbare, ripped, frayed, battered, broken, moth-eaten, rugged, seedy, shaggy, shoddy, unkempt, frazzled, scraggyExamples from the Web for tattered
Contemporary Examples of tattered
He wears his characteristic white shalwar kameez with a tattered gray waistcoat.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban ValleyMatt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman
November 15, 2014
They have the tattoos, the face paint, and the tattered clothes, and they hold the door for people and say “thank you.”
The works are shown sequentially, opening with the original photo of Freud in all its tattered glory.
Instead of playing the young anti-Christ, he now wears a tattered robe and helps deliver the baby, who is no longer real.
The House of Shock Is Terrifying Its Guests and Causing Controversy—and the Zombies Who Run the Show Are Loving ItTyler Gillespie
October 25, 2013
They called the tattered blue garments from which their eyes peered out through net material “their prisons.”
Historical Examples of tattered
After coming out of the press, how many have handled this tattered volume?
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
The lad had never previously worn anything but a tattered blouse.
The Fat and the ThinEmile Zola
I then held out to her the pamphlet, in all its tattered condition.
Everything we had was tattered and torn; and had to be patched and repaired somehow.
Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)William Delisle Hay
The Italian fingered his tattered hat, his eyes on the ground.
St. Martin's SummerRafael Sabatini
tattered
- ragged or worna tattered old book
- wearing ragged or torn clothingtattered refugees
- damaged, defeated, or in disarrayhe believes he can bring the tattered party together
tatter
- to make or become ragged or worn to shreds
- (plural) torn or ragged pieces, esp of material
- in tatters
- torn to pieces; in shreds
- destroyed or ruined
Word Origin for tatter
Word Origin and History for tattered
tatter
mid-14c., "clad in slashed garments," from Old Norse toturr "rag," cognate with Old English tættec, tætteca "rag, tatter," Low German tater "tatter." The noun is attested from c.1400.