Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To strain; chafe.
- intransitive verb To wear away (the edges of fabric, for example) by rubbing.
- intransitive verb To become worn away or tattered along the edges.
- noun A frayed or threadbare spot, as on fabric.
- noun A fight; a brawl. synonym: brawl.
- noun A heated dispute or intensely competitive situation.
- noun A military engagement; a battle.
- transitive verb To alarm; frighten.
- transitive verb To drive away.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To rub; grate.
- To rub away the surface of; fret, as cloth by wearing, or the skin by friction; especially, to ravel out the edge of, as a piece of stuff, by drawing out threads of the warp so that the threads of the weft make a kind of fringe: in this sense usually with out.
- To rub against something.
- To yield to rubbing or fretting; ravel out, as cloth.
- noun A fret or chafe in cloth, a cord, etc.; a place injured or weakened by rubbing: as, a fray in an angler's line.
- To put in fear; terrify; frighten; deter by fear.
- To maltreat; misuse.
- To contend; combat; fight.
- noun An affray; a battle; an assault; a quarrel with violence.
- noun A brawl; a riot; a mêlée.
- noun A chase; a hunt.
- noun Synonyms Mêlée, Brawl, etc. See
quarrel , n.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To bear the expense of; to defray.
- transitive verb To rub; to wear off, or wear into shreds, by rubbing; to fret, as cloth.
- intransitive verb To rub.
- intransitive verb To wear out or into shreads, or to suffer injury by rubbing, as when the threads of the warp or of the woof wear off so that the cross threads are loose; to ravel.
- noun An angry quarrel; an affray; contest; combat; broil.
- transitive verb To frighten; to terrify; to alarm.
- noun A fret or chafe, as in cloth; a place injured by rubbing.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb intransitive To
unravel ; used particularly for the edge of something made ofcloth , or the end of arope . - verb intransitive, figuratively To cause
exhaustion ,wear out (a person's mental strength). - verb transitive (
archaic )frighten - noun
Affray ;broil ;contest ;combat ;brawl ;melee . - noun archaic
fright
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb cause friction
- verb wear away by rubbing
- noun a noisy fight
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word fray.
Examples
-
Real Madrid also got back into the title fray, beating Valencia 2-0 after Barcelona could only draw 0-0 with Espanyol.
Analysis 2010
-
Real Madrid also got back into the title fray, beating Valencia 2-0 after Barcelona could only draw 0-0 with Espanyol.
Analysis 2010
-
Real Madrid also got back into the title fray, beating Valencia 2-0 after Barcelona could only draw 0-0 with Espanyol.
Analysis 2010
-
Real Madrid also got back into the title fray, beating Valencia 2-0 after Barcelona could only draw 0-0 with Espanyol.
-
Real Madrid also got back into the title fray, beating Valencia 2-0 after Barcelona could only draw 0-0 with Espanyol.
-
Real Madrid also got back into the title fray, beating Valencia 2-0 after Barcelona could only draw 0-0 with Espanyol.
Analysis 2010
-
One of the most prominent voices to jump into the fray is popular right-wing radio host and author Mark Levin, who went on Facebook yesterday and ripped Beck:
-
While this fray is playing itself out, President Barack Obama announces that, in the spirit of his long-hoped-for "bipartisanship," he is not merely willing but actually eager to work with the new Republican House and Republican Senate on budgetary matters.
Chris Weigant: Terrifying Hallowe'en Nightmares, Left And Right Chris Weigant 2010
-
While this fray is playing itself out, President Barack Obama announces that, in the spirit of his long-hoped-for "bipartisanship," he is not merely willing but actually eager to work with the new Republican House and Republican Senate on budgetary matters.
Chris Weigant: Terrifying Hallowe'en Nightmares, Left And Right Chris Weigant 2010
-
It's great for small kitchen wares, but hidden away in the fray is Mercado Senora, or the "witches market."
Magnifico Chaos 2010
fbharjo commented on the word fray
frazzle - frequentative form ?
September 20, 2011