timeworn

adjective

time·​worn ˈtīm-ˌwȯrn How to pronounce timeworn (audio)
1
: worn or impaired by time
timeworn mansions
2
a
: age-old, ancient
timeworn procedures
b
: hackneyed, stale
a timeworn joke

Examples of timeworn in a Sentence

a timeworn sweater with holes in the sleeves The houses on the street are all timeworn and badly in need of repair. He gave us the same timeworn speech about the need to work hard.
Recent Examples on the Web In contrast to the complexity of Jamojaya‘s family drama, its critique of the music industry is built on timeworn cliches about its tendency to chew up bright young artists and spit them out as empty corporate product. Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Jan. 2023 Regulars fill the timeworn, white-brick building starting from 7 a.m., when this institution, long operated by the Valenzuela family, opens. Chris Malloy, Bon Appétit, 18 Jan. 2023 Painter Michelle Grabner finds fresh edges in their timeworn imagery and honors the history and labor behind them. Cate McQuaid, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Jan. 2023 Some were plain and timeworn; others were lovely; a few were even starry by museum standards. Roberta Smith, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2022 There are the timeworn protests that making bigger sizes is too hard and too expensive. Kara Richardson Whitely, Outside Online, 5 Dec. 2022 Mitchell says that modern pieces, with their harder edges and cleaner lines, marry so well to burnished, timeworn antiques. Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 28 Nov. 2022 Like all genres, forest horror traffics in a number of timeworn tropes. Tom Vanderbilt, Outside Online, 31 Oct. 2022 To be sure, many recent witch novels explore timeworn themes: Witches are distrusted and feared and must conceal themselves from the world. Charlie Jane Anders, Washington Post, 17 Sep. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'timeworn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1729, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of timeworn was in 1729

Dictionary Entries Near timeworn

Cite this Entry

“Timeworn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/timeworn. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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