worn

¹

[wawrn]

adjective

1. diminished in value or usefulness through wear, use, handling, etc..

   The car's front tires were very worn, with little tread left.

2. showing a considerable level of use or wear.

   He read his speech from two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been folded and unfolded many times.

3. wearied; exhausted.

   She looked worn but joyful as she held her newborn daughter.

   Synonyms: spent, tired, fatigued

verb

1. the past participle of wear.

-worn

²

1. a combining form with the meaning “showing a specified level of use, deterioration, or consumption”.

   Before you toss that little-worn top, consider if it could be given a second life.

2. a combining form with the meaning “showing wear, deterioration, or exhaustion from a specified cause”.

   The old bridges fit the landscape, maybe because they are as windworn and aged as the land around them.

   The knights were weary and battleworn when they returned to the castle.

worn

/ wɔːn /

verb

1. the past participle of wear 1

adjective

1. affected, esp adversely, by long use or action

   a worn suit

2. haggard; drawn

3. exhausted; spent

Other Word Forms

• wornness noun
• self-worn adjective
• unworn adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of worn¹

First recorded in 1500–10, for the adjective

Example Sentences

The youngest of those players is 52 and has hasn’t played for a dozen seasons, giving the whole tableau the feel of a tattered and worn museum exhibition.

From Los Angeles Times

They’ve been around; they have worn edges, and when they intersect, it generates something authentically sweet, as real as the rest of the series is improbable.

From Los Angeles Times

With Armani's elegantly tailored power suits, women were offered an alternative to the stiff and stuffy dresses their mothers had worn to work.

From BBC

Every single article of clothing, whether it was worn hundreds of times or never completed, still carries the feeling of being lived in.

From Los Angeles Times

She said uniforms should be worn, but added: "Parents should be protected from the expense that we have to pay out every year, especially when we've still got to get school shoes."

From BBC

Related Words

• frayed 
• shabby 
• tattered 
• threadbare 
• timeworn 
• well-worn