threadbare

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

European allies might join the U.S. in defending the Strait, but their navies are already threadbare.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

"The farmers are the poorest people in Ivory Coast," he added, showing his threadbare clothes.

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

The case against her was threadbare, a product of postwar rancor, false testimony and manipulative journalists who had preyed on her naivete.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2025

Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, dismissed the referral as “three pages of stale, threadbare allegations.”

From Salon • Sep. 17, 2025

He could see where it was threadbare, the fabric stretched thin.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie