tattered

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adjective tat·tered \ ˈta-tərd \

Definition of tattered

1 :torn into shreds :ragged

a tattered flag

2 a :broken down :dilapidated

decaying houses along tattered paved streets
—P. B. Martin

b :being in a shattered condition

led their tattered party to victory

3 :wearing ragged clothes

a tattered barefoot boy

See tattered defined for English-language learners

See tattered defined for kids

Examples of tattered in a Sentence

a pile of old tattered books
arrived at the refugee camp tattered and exhausted

Recent Examples of tattered from the Web

It’s Aug. 10, 1954, and on the westside of Syracuse, a series of owners and executives, from Red Auerbach and Clair Bee to Eddie Gottlieb, Ferris and Biasone, are gathered inside a small, tattered high school gym.

— seerat sohi, SI.com, "How the NBA Was Saved on the Back of a Napkin," 28 Aug. 2017
A tattered life jacket found floating in the water seemed like a clue last week, the Associated Press reported, but turned out to be unrelated.

— avi selk and samantha schmidt, chicagotribune.com, "Police find headless torso in search for journalist believed killed on submarine," 22 Aug. 2017
Evans, a Smyrna lawmaker who is white, also has designs on winning over progressives along with rebuilding a tattered coalition of working-class and suburban voters who have steadily flocked to the GOP.

— greg bluestein, ajc, "Civil rights icon backs Abrams in Georgia governor race," 21 Aug. 2017
Always a little tattered and my makeup is always a little smeared.

— nick williams, Billboard, "Brooklyn Natives Desert Stars Returns: Talks Sobriety, Syncs, & Her Handmade Kimono Romper Line," 17 Aug. 2017
Boyfriend Pants are not always schleppy and tattered from years of private wear and love.

— beca grimm, GQ, "What Are Your Boyfriend Pants?," 2 Aug. 2017
By the time the war ended, Gorongosa was a tattered wreckage.

— steve donoghue, The Christian Science Monitor, "'White Man's Game' details efforts to save Mozambique's Gorongosa Park," 19 July 2017
John McBurney (Colin Farrell), after stitching up his tattered leg and giving him a sponge bath.

— sandy cohen, Detroit Free Press, "Review: ‘Beguiled’ remake is stylish but its message is muddled," 28 June 2017
To the south, the soldier walks home-bound; humbled, his clothes tattered and gun falling to his side.

— the new york times, NOLA.com, "Confederate monuments: Racist history in Tampa clouds heritage claim," 25 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tattered.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of tattered

14th century

tattered Synonyms

Synonyms

ragged, raggedy, ragtag, tatterdemalion, out at elbows (or out at the elbows)

Related Words

bedraggled, scroungy, scruffy, shabby, threadbare; down-at-the-heels (or down-at-heel also down-at-the-heel or down-at-heels)

Near Antonyms

decked (out), dolled up, dressed up; spiffy

TATTERED Defined for English Language Learners

tattered

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adjective

Definition of tattered for English Language Learners

: old and torn

TATTERED Defined for Kids

tattered

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adjective tat·tered \ ˈta-tərd \

Definition of tattered for Students

1 :torn in or worn to shreds

tattered clothes

2 :dressed in ragged clothes a tattered orphan

Learn More about tattered

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for tattered Spanish Central: Translation of tattered Nglish: Translation of tattered for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of tattered for Arabic speakers

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TATTERED Defined for English Language Learners

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