1
a
: made trite by overuse : hackneyed
a well-worn quotation
b
: having been much used or worn
well-worn shoes
2
archaic : worn well or properly

Examples of well-worn in a Sentence

people at the funeral offered the grieving family well-worn platitudes and expressions of sympathy
Recent Examples on the Web An inter-generational audience of 200 attendees gathered at Oak Park’s Guild Theater, many with copies of The 1619 Project book, some well-worn, adorned with bookmarks and annotations, and others had never been opened before, having been bought minutes earlier at the entrance booth in preparation. Acsah Lemma, Sacramento Bee, 18 June 2024 Costume designer Kiyoshi Shaw provides outfits that helpfully remind you of the show’s early 20th century time period yet also seem natural, comfortable and well-worn. Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 8 May 2024 After the Renaissance and Impressionism, maybe the most well-worn. Chadd Scott, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 So, of course, this means Christina Aguilera could not possibly continue on this now well-worn — albeit still undeniably chic — path. Marci Robin, Allure, 5 Feb. 2024 The story of Peter and Harry’s tense friendship is not nearly as well-worn as the deaths of Peter’s Uncle Ben or Batman’s parents. Gene Park, Washington Post, 16 Oct. 2023 He’s spoken about his experience working at Twitter on This American Life and in op-eds for the New York Times, so a lot of his interview was well-worn. Bykylie Robison, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2023 There are residential school tropes that are well-worn. Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Aug. 2023 The witness-interview format, now well-worn, was still new in 1969. The New Republic, 22 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'well-worn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of well-worn was in 1577

Dictionary Entries Near well-worn

Cite this Entry

“Well-worn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/well-worn. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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