Definition of Threadbare

1. Adjective. Repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse. "The trite metaphor `hard as nails'"


2. Adjective. Having the nap worn away so that the threads show through. "Threadbare rugs"
Similar to: Worn

Definition of Threadbare

1. a. Worn to the naked thread; having the nap worn off; threadbare clothes.

Definition of Threadbare

1. Adjective. (context: of cloth) shabby, frayed and worn to an extent that warp threads show ¹

2. Adjective. (context: of a person) wearing clothes of threadbare material ¹

3. Adjective. (context: of speech) banal or clichéd; trite or hackneyed ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Threadbare

1. [adj]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Threadbare

thread-fish
thread blight
thread count
thread counts
thread maker
thread mode
thread necromancy
thread pool
thread pool pattern
thread pool patterns
thread pools
thread snake
thread the needle
threadability
threadable
threadbare (current term)
threadbareness
threaded
threaden
threader
threaders
threadfin
threadfins
threadfish
threadfishes
threadgoldite
threadier
threadiest
threadiness
threadinesses

Literary usage of Threadbare

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Common-place Book by Robert Southey (1849)
"... an old threadbare Bristow frieze gown, girded to his body with a penny leathern girdle, at which hanged by a long string of leather, his testament, ..."

2. Southey's Common-place Book by Robert Southey, John Wood Warter (1850)
"... with two broad flaps to button under his chin; an old threadbare Bristow frieze gown, girded to his body with a penny leathern girdle, at which hanged ..."

3. Life and Death of Mr. Badman and The Holy War by John Bunyan (1905)
"I must confess Mr. Badman was not so arch at the „ M first; that is, to do it by shew of Religion ; Badman did for now he began to grow threadbare, ..."

4. The Mimic World and Public Exhibitions: Their History, Their Morals, and Effects by Olive Logan (1871)
"Kings in threadbare Trowsers and Coats out at Elbows.—Ball-room Belles in India Rubber Overshoes.—Fa,iries in Thick Boots and Demons in Stovepipe Hats. ..."

5. Before the Footlights and Behind the Scenes: a Book about "the Show Business by Olive Logan (1870)
"Kings in threadbare Trowsers and Coats out at Elbows. — Ball-room Belles in India Rubber Overshoes. — Fairies in Thick Boots and Demons in Stovepipe Hats. ..."

6. The Mimic World and Public Exhibitions: Their History, Their Morals, and Effects by Olive Logan (1871)
"Kings in threadbare Trowsers and Coats out nt Elbows.—Ball-room Belles in India Rubber Overshoes.—Fairies in Thick Boots and Demons in Stovepipe Hats. ..."

7. Trilby by George Du Maurier (1894)
"Only Taffy, in his threadbare, out-at-elbow shooting-jacket and cricket-cap, and the Laird, in his tattered straw hat and Taffy's old overcoat down to his ..."

Other Resources:

Search for Threadbare on Dictionary.com!Search for Threadbare on Thesaurus.com!Search for Threadbare on Google!Search for Threadbare on Wikipedia!

Search