1
as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
bought a threadbare couch at a garage sale
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cliche
used or heard so often as to be dull
a novel filled with nothing but threadbare clichés
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in tattered
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
never knew that she had so many threadbare relatives until she won the lottery
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of threadbare
As in self-consciously old-fashioned, or maybe just lavishly threadbare.
—
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 7 Dec. 2024
The interior of the offensive line is threadbare, with question marks at center and one guard spot.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2024
But as ProPublica reported this year, court oversight of these officials is threadbare.
—Jake Pearson, ProPublica, 8 Nov. 2024
In the late ’70s, Hooper’s movie had made its way from first-run theaters to the threadbare drive-ins of New England.
—Chris Nashawaty, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for threadbare
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 7 Dec. 2024
The interior of the offensive line is threadbare, with question marks at center and one guard spot.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2024
But as ProPublica reported this year, court oversight of these officials is threadbare.
—Jake Pearson, ProPublica, 8 Nov. 2024
In the late ’70s, Hooper’s movie had made its way from first-run theaters to the threadbare drive-ins of New England.
—Chris Nashawaty, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for threadbare
Recent Examples of Synonyms for threadbare
Adjective
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That sounds logical, but a healthy housing market needs some extra properties to account for old or dilapidated homes that are demolished or taken out of use – not to mention some vacancies so people can move around.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2025
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The hotel is founded and managed by locals, who transformed a dilapidated bed-and-breakfast into a six-acre luxury hotel in 2001.—
Maya Kachroo-Levine,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The other traditional party, the Liberal Party, has splintered between those who remain loyal to Zelaya and those who led the coup, including Mauricio Villeda, the presidential candidate who leads a tattered vestige of his party.—
Dana Frank,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Nov. 2013
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What if standing up to Trump is the very thing that saves the Liberal Party, and Trudeau’s tattered legacy?—
Talib Visram,
TIME,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Kicking Margulis and Dyson out of polite scientific society for these consensus violations would have impoverished science.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
12 Mar. 2025
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The nuances of being the older sibling, and especially the eldest daughter of an impoverished, fractured or immigrant family, are beginning to gain more traction in mainstream media.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This was to help end the puppy mill industry, where dogs are bred en masse, leading them to be born and raised in filthy and neglected conditions.—
Andrew Sheeler,
Sacramento Bee,
12 Feb. 2025
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If coordinated correctly, Trump’s tariff threats offer an enormous opportunity for America’s neglected waterfront.—
Craig Hooper,
Forbes,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Tragedies can be examined by those outside of its sphere of destruction, but the groundswell of feeling from Mexican viewers and critics is that there was little or no care taken to understand the cultural grief beyond stereotyped spectacle.—
Lucy Ford,
TIME,
24 Jan. 2025
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Founded by artists who grew up in Maryvale, Salcido said the purpose of Labor is to be the bridge that shows the artistic capacity and potential of Maryvale because the neighborhood is too often stereotyped, underrepresented and ignored.—
David Ulloa Jr,
The Arizona Republic,
6 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Doncic had a ragged shooting night, making 6 of 17 field goal attempts and 1 for 7 from 3-point range.—
Jim Alexander,
Orange County Register,
26 Feb. 2025
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Put all those elements together and Spurs are suddenly a very different prospect from the exhausted, ragged group that trudged from game to game not very long ago.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
The Athletic,
24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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But there is another concerning trend and area that has to be improved — their poor record on second balls.—
Rob Tanner,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025
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Flooding may also occur in poor drainage and urban areas.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
Newsweek,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Absorb punches until Trump tires himself out or, more likely, the American people get tired of all the chaos and disruption.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
20 Mar. 2025
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Selections from the trio’s synth-heavy mid-Eighties years sound sturdier than ever within the grand sweep of Rush 50, defying the tired rock-purist take that the trio strayed too far during this period.—
Hank Shteamer,
Rolling Stone,
20 Mar. 2025
Articles Related to threadbare
Cite this Entry
“Threadbare.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/threadbare. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
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