frayed
adj/fɹeɪd/
Etymology From fray + -ed, from Old French froiier (“to rub against, scrape; thrust against”), from Latin fricare (“to rub, rub down”).
1
Unravelled; worn at the end or edge.
2
Figuratively Exhausted, 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:
- Derived terms
- frayedness, unfrayed