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View synonyms for threadbare

threadbare

[ thred-bair ]

adjective

  1. having the nap worn off so as to lay bare the threads of the warp and woof, as a fabric, garment, etc.
  2. wearing threadbare clothes; shabby or poor:

    a threadbare old man.

  3. meager, scanty, or poor:

    a threadbare emotional life.

  4. hackneyed; trite; ineffectively stale:

    threadbare arguments.



threadbare

/ ˈθrɛdˌbɛə /

adjective

  1. (of cloth, clothing, etc) having the nap worn off so that the threads are exposed
  2. meagre or poor

    a threadbare existence

  3. hackneyed

    a threadbare argument

  4. wearing threadbare clothes; shabby
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈthreadˌbareness, noun
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Other Words From

  • threadbareness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of threadbare1

First recorded in 1325–75, threadbare is from the Middle English word thredbare. See thread, bare 1
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Example Sentences

In terms of linear television, it’s more tent than tentpole, but the canvas is sound; there are no rips developing, no threadbare patches to let the rain in.

It’s entirely conceivable that he’ll buy into this new attempt to outlaw a safe and effective abortion procedure, and send the three states’ threadbare case back up the judicial pipeline.

As I slid the socks over my bare feet, cold and white in the brisk November air, I immediately knew they weren’t my lucky ones, which were far more threadbare than these plush imposters.

From Salon

The anti-vaccine camp has seized on the threadbare shibboleths of “medical freedom” and “health freedom” — or “bodily autonomy,” as Vance put it.

Etero manages a threadbare convenience store in a provincial village and spends most of her time alone, chasing birds and picking blackberries.

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