1
as in ragged
wearing torn or worn-out clothes
arrived at the shelter tattered and exhausted
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
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 tattered
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
With rescue and cleanup efforts still front of mind in the Tampa Bay region, the city of St. Petersburg is a long way from making any decisions on how to fix the tattered stadium, officials said Friday.
—NBC News, 12 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for tattered
Adjective
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
With rescue and cleanup efforts still front of mind in the Tampa Bay region, the city of St. Petersburg is a long way from making any decisions on how to fix the tattered stadium, officials said Friday.
—NBC News, 12 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for tattered
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tattered
Adjective
-
Cocker was famous for his ragged, one-of-a-kind covers of other acts’ famous songs, with Joel comparing the late singer to such legendary song interpreters as Frank Sinatra.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Grand Canyon didn’t do enough to punish Maryland for its ragged start.—
Baltimore Sun staff,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Like Napoleon’s Uncle Rico, who dwells on his long-ago high-school-football days, Garrett is living in the faded aura of past glory: in his case, a 1989 video-game championship.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
9 Apr. 2025
-
As thousands of migrants cycled through its faded lobby, the Roosevelt turned into a lightning rod in the country’s immigration debate: both as a reminder of the depth of the crisis and as shorthand for critics opposed to the expenditure of taxpayer money on migrants.—
Luis Ferré-Sadurní,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
But the Hawks’ present-day problems ripped them right back into the here and now.—
Phil Thompson,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Jan. 2025
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Later Cardini shredded the leaves into bite-sized pieces.—
John Mariani,
Forbes,
8 Jan. 2025
-
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 25 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share