tattered

adjective

tat·​tered ˈta-tərd How to pronounce tattered (audio)
1
: torn into shreds : ragged
a tattered flag
2
a
: broken down : dilapidated
decaying houses along tattered paved streetsP. B. Martin
b
: being in a shattered condition
led their tattered party to victory
3
: wearing ragged clothes
a tattered barefoot boy

Examples of tattered in a Sentence

a pile of old tattered books arrived at the shelter tattered and exhausted
Recent Examples on the Web Across the street, a tattered Oceanview Plaza banner flapped in the wind. Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, 15 Feb. 2024 The spot makes several nods to the original, with Braff’s tattered gray sweatshirt not-so-subtly sliding off his shoulder, and Momoa (along with the magic of television) reenacting a midair flip. Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 5 Feb. 2024 The field was dry, the winter grass patchy in spots, and the sun kept peeking through a tattered cover of clouds. Bill Morris, Detroit Free Press, 28 Jan. 2024 The decoration, which retails for $180, is currently listed as sold out on Target's website, but social media users have been obsessed with how the jack-o'-lantern that is situated on top of a body draped in tattered black robes also speaks. Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 30 Oct. 2023 The jack-o'-lantern, which sits atop a ghoulish body draped in tattered black robes, also speaks. Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2023 An overdue sailor from New Jersey was found alive aboard a tattered vessel adrift nearly 300 miles off the coast of North Carolina on Wednesday. Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 19 Nov. 2023 The sense of possibility was not so tattered, but since then the world has grown inured to the land’s broken vows, withering violence and failed peace. Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2023 Even when DeFeo is making pictures of solid, very ordinary things—a crab shell, a chandelier, a wooden staircase, a woman’s tattered shoe—the results look like they were captured in a dream, not ephemeral but haunted. Vince Aletti, The New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tattered.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of tattered was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near tattered

Cite this Entry

“Tattered.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tattered. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tattered

adjective
tat·​tered ˈtat-ərd How to pronounce tattered (audio)
1
: wearing ragged clothes
a tattered barefoot child
2
: torn in shreds : ragged
a tattered flag

More from Merriam-Webster on tattered

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!