Threadbare

//ˈθɹɛdbɛə//

Synonyms for "threadbare" (209 found)

Ranked by relevance and common usage.

Closest matches (42)

unoriginal worn back number back-number banal bare bathetic bedraggled

Adjective(33 words)

awanting deficient dismal exiguous geason inadequate insufficient lank lean meager measly paltry raunchy scant scantling scanty scarce skimpy sleazy slender

Show 13 more words

spare sparse unsufficient wanting wanty almsless arm badly off banal bankrupt beaten beggared beggarly

Adjective(1 words)

banal

Strong matches (63)

Related words (104)

Adjective(45 words)

indigent insolvent lower-class meh moneyless napworn necessitous needy oofless overdone pat pauperized penniless penurious pinched played out pok kai poor poor as a church mouse poor as a rat

Show 25 more words

injured monotonous moth eaten moth-eaten musty old hat overused overworked platitudinous played out prosaic ragged run-down scruffy seedy sere set shabby shelfworn shopworn

Show 32 more words

Adjective(7 words)

old-hat shopworn stock timeworn tired trite well-worn

Related word relations

OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.

5 relation types

Related terms

1 entries

shopworn

derived

1 entries

threadbareness

derived from

2 entries

bare thread

related to

11 entries

banal clichéd clothes damage frayed hackneyed shabby thread trite warp worn

similar

4 entries

unoriginal worn

Translations

39 translations across 20 languages.

Azerbaijani

1 entries

sürtük adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Bulgarian

2 entries

износен adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
овехтял adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Catalan

2 entries

gastat adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
tronat adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Dutch

1 entries

versleten adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Finnish

4 entries

kulunut adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
nuhruinen adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
nuhruinen adj (of a person: wearing clothes of threadbare material)
nukkavieru adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

French

1 entries

élimé adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

German

1 entries

fadenscheinig adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Greek

2 entries

ξεφτισμένος adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
φθαρμένος adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Irish

4 entries

ar an bhfáithim adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
barrchaite adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
lom adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
lomchaite adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Latin

1 entries

rallus adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Macedonian

2 entries

и́злижан adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
и́зносен adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Nahuatl

1 entries

acacaxactic adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Norwegian Bokmål

2 entries

loslitt adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
loslitt adj (of a person: wearing clothes of threadbare material)

Plautdietsch

1 entries

beschieet adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Portuguese

1 entries

puído adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Russian

4 entries

изно́шенный adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
обветша́лый adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
потёртый adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
ста́рый adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Scottish Gaelic

1 entries

lom adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Slovene

1 entries

zguljen adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Spanish

1 entries

raído adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Ukrainian

3 entries

зношений adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
потертий adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)
пошарпаний adj (of cloth, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show — see also shabby, worn-out)

Sample sentences

19 total sentences available.

Tatoeba + Wiktionary

He was wearing a threadbare suit.

Source: tatoeba (329650)

Not a word to Tom! If he hears that guests are coming, he'll drop some threadbare excuse and sneak away.

Source: tatoeba (2726537)

His jacket was threadbare and worn-out, as if he had not taken it off for thirty years.

Source: tatoeba (5396591)

His jacket was as threadbare and worn-out as if he had worn it for thirty years straight.

Source: tatoeba (5396602)

Showing 4 of 19 available sentences.

More for "threadbare"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.