threadbare

American  

[thred-bair] / ˈθrɛdˌbɛər /

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.

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threadbare British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• threadbareness noun

Etymology

Origin of threadbare

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

Example Sentences

Years of squeezed spending in some areas leaving some parts of the public services threadbare.

From BBC

The case against her was threadbare, a product of postwar rancor, false testimony and manipulative journalists who had preyed on her naivete.

From Los Angeles Times

She mumbled her threadbare story about being the cousin of England’s queen, but her heart was not in it, and she fell silent.

From Literature

Bringing my “whole self” to every moment left me threadbare.

From The Wall Street Journal

Wednesday are second bottom of the Championship with six points from nine games after a torrid period off the field has left them with a threadbare squad.

From BBC

Related Words

• faded
• ratty
• scruffy
• shabby
• shopworn
• tacky
• tattered