timeworn

[ tahym-wawrn, -wohrn ]

adjective

1. worn worn or impaired by time. times.
2. showing the effects of age or antiquity; antiquated:

   timeworn farming methods.

3. commonplace; trite; hackneyed:

   a timeworn excuse.

timeworn

/ ˈtaɪmˌwɔːn /

adjective

1. showing the adverse effects of overlong use or of old age
2. hackneyed; trite

Word History and Origins

Origin of timeworn¹

First recorded in 1720–30; time + worn

Example Sentences

Transhumance is a timeworn and yet still relevant practice across Europe and the Mediterranean that sees sheep, goats and cattle herded many miles, linking ecological areas and sometimes making really phenomenal cheese on the way.

From Ozy

It was an altar-tomb, broken and timeworn and almost covered with an accumulation of earth and moss and leaves.

From Project Gutenberg

He leant against the fountain, playing with the cool water which fell with monotonous rhythm into the shallow timeworn basin.

From Project Gutenberg

You seem to have inherited the timeworn theory that the War of 1914 was entirely provoked by the junker class of Germans.

From Project Gutenberg

Ten minutes later, a young woman descended from the timeworn hack.

From Project Gutenberg

Sometimes this throat uttered Yes, sometimes it uttered No; sometimes it made inquiries about a timeworn denizen of the place.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• hoary
• trite