wear thin

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Be weakened or diminished gradually, as in My patience is wearing thin. [Late 1800s]

Become less convincing, acceptable, or popular, as in His excuses are wearing thin. [First half of 1990s] Both usages transfer the thinning of a physical object, such as cloth, to nonmaterial characteristics.

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Words nearby wear thin

wear one's heart on one's sleeve, wear-out, wear out one's welcome, wearproof, wear the pants, wear thin, wear two hats, wear well, weary, weasand, weasel

How to use wear thin in a sentence

Also, she was tall and thin, too, further adding to the ways she met the physical beauty conventions.
Why Was Bess Myerson the First and Last Jewish Miss America?|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Growing up as a teen in the 1960s, she had yearned to wear the same clothes her girlfriends wore.
Inside A Finishing School for Transwomen|Sharon Adarlo|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You had a great line in your piece on Geoffrey Beene about the “genre” of evening wear.
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination|Mindy Farabee|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This is a country where women are allowed to wear one of 14 hairstyles.
North Korea’s Secret Movie Bootleggers: How Western Films Make It Into the Hermit Kingdom|Lizzie Crocker|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“I like decorating my slaves,” she said, referencing the rope, her thin, crimson-coated lips peeling off her front teeth.
Dungeons and Genital Clamps: Inside a Legendary BDSM Chateau|Ian Frisch|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This has a warm though a thin soil, which must be highly favorable to the Vine to induce so exclusive a devotion to it.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
She fixed her imploring eyes on the Virgin's face and on the saints; but all seemed to her to wear a forbidding look.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
At home Liszt doesn't wear his long abb's coat, but a short one, in which he looks much more artistic.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
The Princess was pale and thin; and, though dressed superbly, seemed fitter for her chamber.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Her thin and narrow hands held the balcony railing rather tightly.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens

wear thin

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How to use wear thin in a sentence