as in to tear
to cause (something) to separate into jagged pieces by violently pulling at it
the little boy tattered that blanket beyond repair by repeatedly yanking on it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in shred
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tatter
Hanna Flanagan, PEOPLE.com, 3 Dec. 2019
This store, along with other Starbucks locations throughout the city, would fall prey to similar assaults during the day, leaving dozens of storefronts defaced and tattered.
—Grady McGregor, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2019
Janie Har, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2024
Smith’s office is now consigned to assess the tatters in which the court’s ruling has left its prosecution and determine, like a homeowner after a tornado has touched down, what can be salvaged.
—Ruth Marcus, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for tatter
Verb
So where did Ransome’s tattered cozy knit end up after filming wrapped?
—Hanna Flanagan, PEOPLE.com, 3 Dec. 2019
This store, along with other Starbucks locations throughout the city, would fall prey to similar assaults during the day, leaving dozens of storefronts defaced and tattered.
—Grady McGregor, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2019
Noun
San Francisco is in a struggle to redefine itself after the pandemic left it in economic tatters and highlighted its longstanding problems with homelessness, drugs and property crime.
—Janie Har, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2024
Smith’s office is now consigned to assess the tatters in which the court’s ruling has left its prosecution and determine, like a homeowner after a tornado has touched down, what can be salvaged.
—Ruth Marcus, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for tatter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tatter
Verb
-
The bottle our acquaintance asked about appeared to be worth more than that, save for two problems: The label was torn and had been taped to the bottle, and the owner had received it as a gift.—
Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen,
Robb Report,
24 Feb. 2025
-
But we’re personally torn between Kieran Culkin and Guy Pearce.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Trump is a reverse Trojan Horse: a shred of reason inside a thick armor of malignancy.—
John Yoo and John Shu,
Newsweek,
23 Jan. 2025
-
Every one of his releases is part of a master plan: to develop tools that lay waste to every last hoary shred of club convention.—
Pitchfork,
Pitchfork,
5 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
Republicans have ripped the idea, saying that a credit of $50 would not have much impact on a family of four that is trying to pay the bills.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
18 Feb. 2025
-
In early January, several fires ripped through parts of Los Angeles, burning tens of thousands of acres and destroying more than 9,000 buildings, including homes and businesses.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
These worms have long white tentacles and live in tubes made of coral fragments.—
Stories by Real-Time news team, with AI summarization,
Miami Herald,
14 Feb. 2025
-
Today, their bones are few and far between, found typically in isolation and in fragments.—
Sam Walters,
Discover Magazine,
12 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The remnants of its blue shipping crate, sealed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York weeks earlier, were scattered on a nearby ledge, nails poking through plywood.—
Mike Ives,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2025
-
Although the polarization blocks a significant honeymoon period, this is likely the remnants of that.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
15 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Their actions have left only a small fraction of USAID employees on the job, slashed $60 billion in assistance overseas and upended decades of U.S. policy that foreign aid helps American interests abroad by stabilizing other countries and building alliances.—
GARY FIELDS AND ELLEN KNICKMEYER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
arkansasonline.com,
28 Feb. 2025
-
While around 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 daily, the median household retirement savings for those between the ages 65 and 75 stands around $200,000—a fraction of what’s needed to fund a 20- or 30-year retirement.—
Mike Vietri,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Cheese or Dairy Products Cheese and dairy scraps are other food items not to be used in compost.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Food scraps scattered along the roadside attract rodents, which in turn draw owls to hunt them.—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Mazzoli created a lush score that was alternately sweeping or intimate, sensuous or mystical, yet with a distinctive sound that was her own weaving a thread through the piece.—
Janelle Gelfand,
Cincinnati.com,
19 July 2017
-
This is why the war stories of Tom Clancy are such convincing and moving pieces of fiction.—
Janine Barchas,
Washington Post,
18 July 2017
Cite this Entry
“Tatter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tatter. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share