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
Years of squeezed spending in some areas leaving some parts of the public services threadbare.
From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025
Lately, it seems, the risk-averse screenwriting rules of what-should-happen-by-which-page that have steered Hollywood movies for far too long are feeling especially threadbare.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2025
On the topmost shelf, above a rail of threadbare clothes, a small cardboard box was shaking and rattling as though there were several frantic mice trapped inside it.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Vocabulary lists containing threadbare
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The Great Gatsby
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List 4
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