threadbare
pronunciation
How to pronounce threadbare in British English:
UK [ˈθredbeə(r)]
How to pronounce threadbare in American English:
US [ˈθredber]
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- Adjective:
- repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
- having the nap worn away so that the threads show through
Word Origin
- threadbare (adj.)
- late 14c., from thread (n.) + bare. The notion is of "having the nap worn off," leaving bare the threads.
Example
- 1. Meanwhile , an already threadbare safety net keeps thinning .
- 2. Threadbare sales had prompted some onlookers to question whether all the exhibitors would still be around come autumn .
- 3. In their threadbare logic and refusal to acknowledge moral complexity , these views are almost interchangeable .
- 4. Our affection for him needs no threadbare explanation .
- 5. And many see the current un conference as the last chance to shore up an increasingly threadbare nuclear non-proliferation treaty .