1
as in ragged
wearing torn or worn-out clothes
arrived at the shelter tattered and exhausted
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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
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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
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Recent Examples of tattered
Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
Footage shown on local and national TV news showed a tattered segment of the pier floating on the swell with at least one person walking across the debris.
—Tom Tapp, Deadline, 23 Dec. 2024
McArdle looked down and felt a surge of sadness: The man was sleeping on several layers of cardboard, his head resting on a backpack, a tattered book slipped beneath it.
—Greg Borowski, Journal Sentinel, 18 Dec. 2024
Shane Colombo’s father, Ernesto, brought a tattered file of paperwork to each day of the court proceedings.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 25 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for tattered
Adjective
With tattered cardboard signs directing cars and a makeshift sense of professionalism, the system was clear.
—Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
Footage shown on local and national TV news showed a tattered segment of the pier floating on the swell with at least one person walking across the debris.
—Tom Tapp, Deadline, 23 Dec. 2024
McArdle looked down and felt a surge of sadness: The man was sleeping on several layers of cardboard, his head resting on a backpack, a tattered book slipped beneath it.
—Greg Borowski, Journal Sentinel, 18 Dec. 2024
Shane Colombo’s father, Ernesto, brought a tattered file of paperwork to each day of the court proceedings.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 25 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for tattered
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tattered
Adjective
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The square of white cloth was about to be sewn into a bigger pieces displaying political messages, but the ragged edges didn't neatly line up with the other pieces.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
7 May 2025
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Musk: Tesla not on ‘ragged edge of death’ Musk dismisses the idea that the company is in any serious financial distress.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Offering a 23% concentration of pure vitamin C, this formula delivers some serious brightening benefits, resulting in a more even-looking complexion and faded hyperpigmentation.—
Denise Primbet,
Glamour,
28 Apr. 2025
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Everything below that will be flooded, according to IPCC predictions, so his maps show those areas as underwater, with what’s land today shown as a faded layer.—
Carlton Reid,
Forbes.com,
22 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
But the Hawks’ present-day problems ripped them right back into the here and now.—
Phil Thompson,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Jan. 2025
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Milton’s hurricane-force winds ripped trees from already soggy soils, but its historic rain also flooded neighborhoods that had never experienced waters so high.—
Jack Prator,
Orlando Sentinel,
30 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The Carolina Panthers’ outside linebacker tore his quad on Christmas Eve last year in what turned out to be his final game with the Minnesota Vikings.—
Joseph Person,
The Athletic,
24 Dec. 2024
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In its first game without Sixth Man of the Year candidate Moe Wagner, who tore the ACL in his left knee on Saturday, Orlando relied on a wide variety of scorers, with five finishing in double figures.—
Jason Beede,
Orlando Sentinel,
24 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Later Cardini shredded the leaves into bite-sized pieces.—
John Mariani,
Forbes,
8 Jan. 2025
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One vice that Simpson shredded in 2020 was her battle with alcohol.—
Gord Magill,
Newsweek,
21 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Tattered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tattered. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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