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frayed

American  
[freyd] / freɪd /

adjective

  1. worn to loose, raveled threads or fibers at the outer surface, edge, or end.

    I wouldn’t trust that frayed rope to hold anybody’s weight.

    She hid her hands in the frayed sleeves of her bathrobe.

  2. strained, taxed, or weakened by constant stress; frazzled.

    We're going to have a lot of frayed relationships coming out of this crisis.

    Candlelight and soft music can soothe frayed nerves after a rough day.

verb

  1. the simple past tense and past participle of fray.

Etymology

Origin of frayed

First recorded in 1810–20; fray 2 + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; fray 2 + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb sense

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.