Meanings
comparative more frayed · superlative most frayed
- Unravelled; worn at the end or edge.
- figurativelyExhausted, strained, beleaguered, or suffering from stress.
Although relations between the two adversaries were frayed on occasion, Pyeongyang and Washington were able to negotiate and reach a compromise on the key issues that divided them.
2006, Koh Yu-hwan, “Assessment of the Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks”, in Alfonso Ojeda, Alvaro Hidalgo, editors, North Korea and Regional Security, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 45
- participlepastsimple past and past participle of fray
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveworn away or tattered along the edges
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinfricare“to rub, rub down”
- Old Frenchfroiier“to rub against, scrape; thrust against”
- Englishfrayed
From fray + -ed, from Old French froiier (“to rub against, scrape; thrust against”), from Latin fricare (“to rub, rub down”).
More words from Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
German ausgefranst, zerfranst
- ausgefranstunravelled
- zerfranstunravelled
Māori tāwekoweko
- tāwekowekounravelled
Spanish deshilachado
- deshilachadounravelled
Swedish fransig
- fransigunravelled
Tagalog lilit
- lilitunravelled
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with frayed
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
frayed. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frayed
“frayed.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frayed. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “frayed,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frayed.
Source: frayed on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.