as in clothes
covering for the human body
the girls showed up at the prom wearing their most elegant rags
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in scolds
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
several readers called in to rag the editor for his paper's repeated grammatical lapses
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rags
Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 22 May 2026
There’s always a need for rags.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 18 May 2026
Like so many historical myths, this swashbuckling tale of pirates, court accusations, and gossip, which frames the rags-to-riches emergence of this American family, is rife with historical fiction.
—Literary Hub, 14 May 2026
Two decades later, Shuter is using his Substack, Naughty but Nice, to capitalize on the eternal appetite for the sort of outrageously lowbrow material once only found in the pages of gossip rags like the Enquirer.
—Dan Adler, Vanity Fair, 12 May 2026
Like many rags-to-riches stories, the quintet’s rise to fame seemed fated.
—India Roby, Architectural Digest, 4 May 2026
Released in 2006, the first The Devil Wears Prada was a rags-to-riches story of a young woman (Hathaway) who headed for the big city to be a serious journalist, only to become the assistant of a ruthless and legendary editor (Streep).
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 29 Apr. 2026
Soak rags in vinegar and place them around the garden.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 26 Apr. 2026
Through the years, the NFL has been a boon for the rags-to-riches tale.
—Michael Marot, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
This is not just another rags-to-riches story of a Black rapper on the rise.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 22 May 2026
There’s always a need for rags.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 18 May 2026
Like so many historical myths, this swashbuckling tale of pirates, court accusations, and gossip, which frames the rags-to-riches emergence of this American family, is rife with historical fiction.
—Literary Hub, 14 May 2026
Two decades later, Shuter is using his Substack, Naughty but Nice, to capitalize on the eternal appetite for the sort of outrageously lowbrow material once only found in the pages of gossip rags like the Enquirer.
—Dan Adler, Vanity Fair, 12 May 2026
Like many rags-to-riches stories, the quintet’s rise to fame seemed fated.
—India Roby, Architectural Digest, 4 May 2026
Released in 2006, the first The Devil Wears Prada was a rags-to-riches story of a young woman (Hathaway) who headed for the big city to be a serious journalist, only to become the assistant of a ruthless and legendary editor (Streep).
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 29 Apr. 2026
Soak rags in vinegar and place them around the garden.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 26 Apr. 2026
Through the years, the NFL has been a boon for the rags-to-riches tale.
—Michael Marot, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rags
Verb
-
Stumbling on to this ruse, Antoine’s friend and manager Armand (Gilles Lellouche) immediately can tell Suzanne is a fake and scolds her for exploiting his friend’s grief.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
12 May 2026
-
Or tie scolds to the ducking stool again.—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
From electronics to clothing to food, nearly every industry has felt the sting.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
-
The headscarf and loose clothing cover the entire body.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Today’s successful downtowns rely on a mix of ingredients, said Steven Falk, the former city manager of Lafayette, who’s served as an interim city executive in Oakland and Richmond and who lectures at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
2 June 2026
-
Bad teams are given mechanisms to recover, not lectures about bootstraps.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
Tuesday's protest came in response to the widespread detention of women and girls in Herat province in recent days by the Taliban's morality police force, for alleged violations of the group's rules on attire, which require women to cover their hair and faces.—
Ahmad Mukhtar,
CBS News,
9 June 2026
-
The Octagon Girls couldn’t step foot on the White House lawn this weekend in their usual business attire, not for UFC Freedom 250.—
Sean Joseph OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
His supervisor appears as a ticket conductor and reprimands him for doing nothing.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
His shirt reeked of the flowery-formaldehyde tartness of mothballs pickling dress pockets in a closet.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
Katara dresses as this figure from folklore to help immigrants going through tough times.—
Entertainment Weekly,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rags.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rags. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
