tattered

adjective

tat·​tered ˈta-tərd 

1

: torn into shreds : ragged

a tattered flag

2

a

: broken down : dilapidated

decaying houses along tattered paved streets

—P. B. Martin

b

: being in a shattered condition

led their tattered party to victory

3

: wearing ragged clothes

a tattered barefoot boy

Synonyms

• ragged
• raggedy
• ragtag
• tatterdemalion

Examples of tattered in a Sentence

a pile of old tattered books

arrived at the shelter tattered and exhausted

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Already, our editors have taken advantage of Early Amazon Prime Day deals to restock their old and tattered collections. —Noah Kaufman, Bon Appétit, 9 Oct. 2024

One of the most indispensable was a tattered copy of the Iliad. —Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Kids Definition

tattered

adjective

tat·​tered ˈtat-ərd 

1

: wearing ragged clothes

a tattered barefoot child

2

: torn in shreds : ragged

a tattered flag