as in tattered
worn or torn into or as if into rags
she wore a beloved but badly frayed flannel shirt
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in eroded
to damage or diminish by continued friction
constant rubbing against the rock face has badly frayed our climbing rope
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frayed
David Goldman, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025
The ropes under my hands, touched lightly, lightly, felt somewhat frayed and old, and the ironwood slats under my feet seemed occasional.
—Ryan Knighton, AFAR Media, 31 Oct. 2025
These from Jenni Kayne carry the designer’s signature Californian nonchalance with a frayed edge.
—Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 23 Oct. 2025
In London, Di Petsa recreated the look of sandy beaches with two tan denim frocks, embellished with frayed seams and hems.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 22 Oct. 2025
Blazy exaggerated the frayed hems that Coco Chanel loved into ragged edges by letting the cloth be overtaken slowly with tiny hanging strings of beads.
—Nathan Heller, Vogue, 14 Oct. 2025
The classic Vans jazz stripe trades clean leather for frayed, multicolor tweed, a direct nod to Chanel’s signature fabric.
—Christopher Claxton, Billboard, 10 Oct. 2025
At last Chiefs-Jags won by a single vote as the panel repaired to the Quill & Swill Pub to mend frayed feelings with old friend Jim Beam.
—Greg Cote
october 2, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
Investigators later recovered additional skeletal remains along with Levi’s jeans, a frayed leather coat, a leather belt with beadwork, two metal rings and a clog-style shoe.
—Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2025
Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
Four years later, Afghanistan has faded from headlines and those lifelines have frayed.
—Vidushi Mishti Sharma, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
Over time, the relationship frayed.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Many preventative care services are covered, at least partially, by insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act, but experts say that net of protection has frayed over the years.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 8 Oct. 2025
The roots frayed with nowhere to go.
—Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025
His trousers were too long, and the hems were frayed.
—Lisa K. Friedman, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
The international treaties and regimes that govern nuclear issues, particularly the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), are badly frayed.
—Mariano-Florentino CuÉllar, Foreign Affairs, 25 Sep. 2025
American health-care systems already frayed by a brutal pandemic are being dismantled further, and Americans’ antipathy for one another is having deadly effects on children and families.
—Rachel Pearson, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Despite a still-robust economy, on paper anyway, lackluster hiring is adding to Americans’ frayed nerves, as is the erosion of federal safety-net benefits.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025
The ropes under my hands, touched lightly, lightly, felt somewhat frayed and old, and the ironwood slats under my feet seemed occasional.
—Ryan Knighton, AFAR Media, 31 Oct. 2025
These from Jenni Kayne carry the designer’s signature Californian nonchalance with a frayed edge.
—Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 23 Oct. 2025
In London, Di Petsa recreated the look of sandy beaches with two tan denim frocks, embellished with frayed seams and hems.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 22 Oct. 2025
Blazy exaggerated the frayed hems that Coco Chanel loved into ragged edges by letting the cloth be overtaken slowly with tiny hanging strings of beads.
—Nathan Heller, Vogue, 14 Oct. 2025
The classic Vans jazz stripe trades clean leather for frayed, multicolor tweed, a direct nod to Chanel’s signature fabric.
—Christopher Claxton, Billboard, 10 Oct. 2025
At last Chiefs-Jags won by a single vote as the panel repaired to the Quill & Swill Pub to mend frayed feelings with old friend Jim Beam.
—Greg Cote
october 2, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
Investigators later recovered additional skeletal remains along with Levi’s jeans, a frayed leather coat, a leather belt with beadwork, two metal rings and a clog-style shoe.
—Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2025
Verb
The first one will be connected to a larger community center so that even people who are not in-patient will be able to access health care, mental health care, career counseling, financial planning management and family therapy services to help rebuild relationships frayed by addiction.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
Four years later, Afghanistan has faded from headlines and those lifelines have frayed.
—Vidushi Mishti Sharma, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
Over time, the relationship frayed.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Many preventative care services are covered, at least partially, by insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act, but experts say that net of protection has frayed over the years.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 8 Oct. 2025
The roots frayed with nowhere to go.
—Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025
His trousers were too long, and the hems were frayed.
—Lisa K. Friedman, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
The international treaties and regimes that govern nuclear issues, particularly the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), are badly frayed.
—Mariano-Florentino CuÉllar, Foreign Affairs, 25 Sep. 2025
American health-care systems already frayed by a brutal pandemic are being dismantled further, and Americans’ antipathy for one another is having deadly effects on children and families.
—Rachel Pearson, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frayed
Adjective
-
Nearly every panel of the shoe is tattered and torn, including a heel seam that’s coming undone and reveals the inner cork components of the shoe.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
30 Oct. 2025
-
By the end of the summer my catalogs were tattered and worn.—
Neil Sperry,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In particular, the city’s stormwater system is failing as pipes have eroded and caused sinkholes to pop up in some parts of the city.—
Taylor O'Connor,
Kansas City Star,
5 Nov. 2025
-
But the Court’s authority itself has been eroded by years of partisan battles.—
Dan Perry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
My breath is nervous and ragged but my will determined.—
Vanita Salisbury,
AFAR Media,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The result is a ragged primal scream of a film — not a cry for help, but rather, a bellow of maternal rage.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
As for accessories, Obama wore a pair of white, firework-like earrings from the Chanel collection as well.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
6 Nov. 2025
-
At the game, Swift wore head-to-toe Chiefs red, including a $550 Courrèges sweater and matching $650 Courrèges skirt.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
By the years of the Great Depression, the clown came to represent the faded glory of the circus and reflected the weariness felt by so many Americans in crisis.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Scherzinger’s only familiarity with the material was Billy Wilder’s 1950 film, which starred Gloria Swanson as a faded beauty of the silent era hell-bent on a return to relevance.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frayed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frayed. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.
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