tattered
Americanadjective
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ragged or worn
a tattered old book
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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
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.
It is hard to imagine a more arresting metaphor for literature in wartime than a tattered book in which a single bloody fingerprint repeatedly appears in the margins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
America’s financial playbook may be tattered, but Generation Z is taking matters into its own hands.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Their tattered remnants, barely held together with patches and stitching, are poignant metaphors for a battered will that keeps fighting even as protections wear thin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
There, admirers planted the large, tattered American flag that had come under attack at Sumter—Anderson had brought it with him to Manhattan—on the massive likeness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
