1
as in ragged
wearing torn or worn-out clothes
arrived at the shelter tattered and exhausted
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in faded
worn or torn into or as if into rags
a hobo in tattered old clothes and worn-out shoes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in ripped
to cause (something) to separate into jagged pieces by violently pulling at it
the little boy tattered that blanket beyond repair by repeatedly yanking on it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tattered
Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 9 Jan. 2026
There’s a magic, a sacredness to the mountain, even under its layered grief and tattered prayer flags.
—Corey Buhay, Outside, 18 Dec. 2025
This could be a tattered sofa, a wobbly table, or a too-small area rug.
—Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Dec. 2025
By the end of the summer my catalogs were tattered and worn.
—Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tattered
Adjective
The textured look included Roberto Cavalli tattered pants in a deep burgundy, worn with brown Miu Miu leggings underneath, a Dolce & Gabbana corset, and a Hermès by Jean Paul Gaultier shawl.
—Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 9 Jan. 2026
There’s a magic, a sacredness to the mountain, even under its layered grief and tattered prayer flags.
—Corey Buhay, Outside, 18 Dec. 2025
This could be a tattered sofa, a wobbly table, or a too-small area rug.
—Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Dec. 2025
By the end of the summer my catalogs were tattered and worn.
—Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tattered
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tattered
Adjective
-
At 836,000 square miles, Greenland is nearly 80 percent ice, a frozen leaf dangling in the far North Atlantic with dramatic, ragged edges, impossibly sheer cliffs that dwarf even El Capitan, and a massive ice sheet as thick as 11,000 feet.—
Tim Neville,
Outside,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Her breath was becoming more ragged.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, her glam was soft and even-toned, bolstered only by a sharp baby wing of black liner, highlight on her nose and a faded taupe hue on her lips.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Each of the 22 pages, about the size of those in a typical hardcover book, is inscribed on both sides with easily visible black and faded-brown words written by the monks.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Materials consistent with homemade explosives and fireworks were found at the site of an explosion and fire that ripped through an apartment building in Los Angeles County, killing a teenager, a report said.—
Greg Norman-Diamond,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
People are getting ripped from their cars!—
Angela Pelster,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The next areas on your decluttering to-do list should be your kitchen cabinets and office drawers, which have a serious tendency to accumulate unused or outdated electronics, miscellaneous plugs, or frayed, unusable cords.—
Nishaa Sharma,
The Spruce,
25 Jan. 2026
-
For all the dialogue’s sharpness, a few narrative strands are left too loose or frayed.—
Hannah Gold,
New Yorker,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Kim tore her labrum in early January but has been cleared to compete in Livigno.—
Michelle Bruton,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
On the day the hotel in Beirut was due to launch in August 2020, an ammonium-nitrate explosion tore through the city, bringing much of the area to rubble and tragically killing more than 200 people.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Deltaform Mountain may not have the same catchy, name-brand appeal as the other peaks that Lustenberger has scaled and then shredded on skis.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside,
23 Jan. 2026
-
With alkaline or zinc-carbon batteries, the materials are shredded to separate the paper, plastics, and metal.—
Katherine Gallagher,
Treehugger,
20 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tattered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tattered. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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