as in to tear
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
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as in shred
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tatter
Hanna Flanagan, PEOPLE.com, 3 Dec. 2019
This store, along with other Starbucks locations throughout the city, would fall prey to similar assaults during the day, leaving dozens of storefronts defaced and tattered.
—Grady McGregor, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2019
Janie Har, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2024
Smith’s office is now consigned to assess the tatters in which the court’s ruling has left its prosecution and determine, like a homeowner after a tornado has touched down, what can be salvaged.
—Ruth Marcus, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for tatter 
Verb
So where did Ransome’s tattered cozy knit end up after filming wrapped?
—Hanna Flanagan, PEOPLE.com, 3 Dec. 2019
This store, along with other Starbucks locations throughout the city, would fall prey to similar assaults during the day, leaving dozens of storefronts defaced and tattered.
—Grady McGregor, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2019
Noun
San Francisco is in a struggle to redefine itself after the pandemic left it in economic tatters and highlighted its longstanding problems with homelessness, drugs and property crime.
—Janie Har, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2024
Smith’s office is now consigned to assess the tatters in which the court’s ruling has left its prosecution and determine, like a homeowner after a tornado has touched down, what can be salvaged.
—Ruth Marcus, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for tatter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tatter
Verb
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Zoom in: Divers worked in 20-minute shifts around the wreckage, swimming through the pitch-black depths and taking breaks at times to replace their suits, torn by debris.—
Cuneyt Dil,
Axios,
31 Jan. 2025
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Hurricane Milton tore through Florida’s Gulf Coast about two weeks later.—
Katie Smith,
USA TODAY,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Hundreds of commenters who had never met the couple thanked her for the shred of good news.—
Callie Holtermann,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2025
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The record’s new-wave ditties are an amalgamation of strange but immediately identifiable components, chimeras of ’60s pop à la Lesley Gore and the frenzied shred of a skateboarding compilation.—
Pitchfork,
Pitchfork,
3 Dec. 2024
Verb
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His logic for ripping Taylor Swift and Caitlin Clark for doing nothing more than watching a Chiefs game made no sense at all.—
Bob Raissman,
New York Daily News,
25 Jan. 2025
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In floor remarks Saturday morning, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer ripped into the Trump administration for the move, saying that the dismissals are a possible violation of federal law.—
Katherine Faulders,
ABC News,
25 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The skull fragments, teeth, jaws and other remains unearthed at different sites across the country are clearly remnants of archaic hominins — the formal name for species in the human lineage — who lived between 300,000 and 100,000 years ago.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN,
24 Jan. 2025
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Blumberg worked with Tilbury, for instance, for around two weeks, sitting in the garden shed where the pianist keeps his Steinway, with Blumberg recording as Tilbury scribbled notes on a stave and played fragments of song.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
24 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Its priceless artefacts include the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles (renamed the Parthenon Sculptures by those who believe they should be returned to Greece) and the remnants of an Anglo-Saxon ship burial from Sutton Hoo.—
Caroline Frost,
Deadline,
26 Jan. 2025
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The skull fragments, teeth, jaws and other remains unearthed at different sites across the country are clearly remnants of archaic hominins — the formal name for species in the human lineage — who lived between 300,000 and 100,000 years ago.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN,
24 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Not all seeds are fertile or survive, so only a fraction of those produced might germinate and mature themselves.—
Miri Talabac,
Baltimore Sun,
23 Jan. 2025
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But only a fraction of all defibrillators are actually registered with the local emergency services system, as is required by law.—
Ciara McCarthy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
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In practice, Kung Fu Panda feels like adventure cobbled together from scraps, and the fight sequences and animation aren’t as stunning as the previous films.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
31 Jan. 2025
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That means gathering items such as work gloves, metal scraps and power cables.—
Gieson Cacho,
The Mercury News,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Mazzoli created a lush score that was alternately sweeping or intimate, sensuous or mystical, yet with a distinctive sound that was her own weaving a thread through the piece.—
Janelle Gelfand,
Cincinnati.com,
19 July 2017
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This is why the war stories of Tom Clancy are such convincing and moving pieces of fiction.—
Janine Barchas,
Washington Post,
18 July 2017
Thesaurus Entries Near tatter
Cite this Entry
“Tatter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tatter. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
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