frazzle

[ fraz-uhl ]
See synonyms for: frazzlefrazzledfrazzling on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object),fraz·zled, fraz·zling.
  1. to wear to threads or shreds; fray.

  2. to weary; tire out: Those six eight-year-olds frazzled me.

noun
  1. the state of being frazzled or worn-out.

  2. a remnant; shred.

Origin of frazzle

1
1815–25; blend of fray2 and fazzle,Middle English faselin to unravel, cognate with German faseln

Words Nearby frazzle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use frazzle in a sentence

  • He was streaked with ashes and soot and sweat, and so was his horse, and they both looked worn to a frazzle.

    Pluck on the Long Trail | Edwin L. Sabin
  • All he's got to do is to start out empty-handed and lick the world to a frazzle.

    Destiny | Charles Neville Buck
  • Neither can lick the other to a frazzle and neither can afford to give up till it is completely licked.

  • So back to the hotel went Billy to enter upon a period of waiting that frayed his nerves to an utter frazzle.

    The Palace of Darkened Windows | Mary Hastings Bradley
  • If you face the supernatural, it is more than half beaten to a frazzle, before the fight begins.

    The Ghost Breaker | Charles Goddard

British Dictionary definitions for frazzle

frazzle

/ (ˈfræzəl) /


verb
  1. informal to make or become exhausted or weary; tire out

  2. a less common word for fray 2 (def. 1)

noun
  1. informal the state of being frazzled or exhausted

  2. a frayed end or remnant

  1. to a frazzle informal absolutely; completely (esp in the phrase burnt to a frazzle)

Origin of frazzle

1
C19: probably from Middle English faselen to fray, from fasel fringe; influenced by fray ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012