Thesaurus

threadbare

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of threadbare

1 showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect

bought a threadbare couch at a garage sale

Synonyms of threadbare

beat-up, bombed-out, dilapidated, dog-eared, down-at-the-heels (or down-at-heel), dumpy, grungy, mangy, mean, miserable, moth-eaten, neglected, ratty, run-down, scrubby, scruffy, seedy, shabby, sleazy, tacky, tatterdemalion, tatty, timeworn, tumbledown

Words Related to threadbare

abandoned, unkept

desolate, forlorn, godforsaken

broken-down, decrepit, tired, worn-out

bedraggled, dingy, ragged, tattered

decaying, deteriorated, deteriorating, rackety, ramshackle, rattletrap, rickety, tumbledown

broken, damaged, destroyed, harmed, hurt, impaired, injured, ruined, wrecked

Phrases Synonymous with threadbare

Near Antonyms of threadbare

brand-new, fresh, new

cared-for, kept-up, maintained

mended, patched, rebuilt, reconstructed

smart, spiffy, spruce

2 used or heard so often as to be dull

a novel filled with nothing but threadbare clichés

Synonyms of threadbare

banal, cliché (also cliche), clichéd, cobwebby, commonplace, hack, hackney, hackneyed, moth-eaten, musty, obligatory, shopworn, stale, stereotyped, timeworn, tired, trite, well-worn

Words Related to threadbare

bromidic, platitudinal, platitudinous

canned, cardboard, conventional, cookie-cutter, derivative, imitative, ready-made, tried-and-true, unimaginative, uninspired, unoriginal

normal, ordinary, rote, routine, standard, stock, typical, usual

arid, barren, boring, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dry, dull, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monotonous, numbing, old, pedantic, pedestrian, ponderous, prosaic, stodgy, stuffy, tame, tedious, tiresome, tiring, undramatic, uninteresting, vapid, wearisome, weary, wearying

old-fashioned, old hat

Near Antonyms of threadbare

animating, energizing, enlivening, exciting, galvanizing, invigorating, stimulating

absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting

atypical, extraordinary, strange, unaccustomed, uncommon, unfamiliar, unheard-of, unknown, unprecedented, unusual

pathbreaking, pioneering, trailblazing

Antonyms of threadbare

fresh, new, novel, original, unclichéd, unhackneyed

3 worn or torn into or as if into rags

I loved that threadbare shirt, but after 10 years of wear, it was time to throw it away

Synonyms of threadbare

frayed, ragged, raggedy, ratty, seedy, shabby, tattered, worn-out

Words Related to threadbare

dowdy, scruffy, tatterdemalion

lacerate (or lacerated), shredded

broken-down, decrepit, dilapidated, dog-eared, grungy, mangy, moth-eaten, run-down, scuzzy [slang], tacky

Near Antonyms of threadbare

brand-new, new, spick-and-span (or spic-and-span), unused

4 lacking money or material possessions

never knew that she had so many threadbare relatives until she won the lottery

Synonyms of threadbare

beggared, beggarly, broke, destitute, dirt-poor, down-and-out, famished, hard up, impecunious, impoverished, indigent, necessitous, needful, needy, pauperized, penniless, penurious, poor, poverty-stricken, skint [chiefly British]

Words Related to threadbare

deprived, disadvantaged, dispossessed, unaffluent, underprivileged

bankrupt, bankrupted, bust (or busted), insolvent

possessionless, ruined

depressed, distressed, hand-to-mouth, hardscrabble, pinched, poorish, reduced, straitened

cash-strapped, low, short, tapped out

Phrases Synonymous with threadbare

down on one's luck, out at elbows (or out at the elbows), out of pocket

Near Antonyms of threadbare

comfortable, prosperous

Antonyms of threadbare

affluent, deep-pocketed, fat, fat-cat, flush, moneyed (also monied), opulent, rich, silk-stocking, wealthy, well-heeled, well-off, well-to-do

Synonym Discussion of threadbare

trite, hackneyed, stereotyped, threadbare mean lacking the freshness that evokes attention or interest. trite applies to a once effective phrase or idea spoiled from long familiarity.

- "you win some, you lose some" is a trite expression

hackneyed stresses being worn out by overuse so as to become dull and meaningless.

- all of the metaphors and images in the poem are hackneyed

stereotyped implies falling invariably into the same pattern or form.

- views of minorities that are stereotyped and out-of-date

threadbare applies to what has been used until its possibilities of interest have been totally exhausted.

- a mystery novel with a threadbare plot

Learn More about threadbare

See words that rhyme with threadbare Dictionary: Definition of threadbare Spanish Central: Translation of threadbare Nglish: Translation of threadbare for Spanish speakers

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