wearing

[wair-ing]

adjective

1. gradually impairing or wasting.

   Reading small print can be wearing on the eyes.

2. wearying or exhausting.

   a wearing task.

3. relating to or made for wear.

wearing

/ ˈwɛərɪŋ /

adjective

1. causing fatigue or exhaustion; tiring

Other Word Forms

• wearingly adverb
• unwearing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wearing¹

First recorded in 1805–15; wear + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Amiryan’s partner had pulled her Cadillac Escalade into a parking garage when two men wearing black opened fire with rifles, a detective wrote in an affidavit.

From Los Angeles Times

"Walking in on the first day, and going through those doors of a police station, it's literally the last place on earth you'd want to be wearing secret cameras," he told me.

From BBC

A video filmed overnight appeared to show four severely injured men wearing high-visibility jackets receiving treatment inside a tent there.

From BBC

“It’s awesome,” said Snell, who was wearing a blue hoodie emblazoned with the Dodgers playoff slogan “Built For Fall” across the front.

From Los Angeles Times

He left Gaza with only his mobile phone and the clothes he was wearing.

From BBC