as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
an old dog-eared copy of a beloved book
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Recent Examples of dog-eared
My esteemed coworkers in Vulture’s book Slack, in fact, suggested that copies of The Secret of Secrets should come pre-wrinkled and dog-eared, with salt stains and sand in the pages.
—
Emily Heller, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2025
Sometimes they’ve been torn, smudged, folded or dog-eared.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2025
My copies of these books are now dog-eared to death and as appropriately stained as favorite kitchen tools.
—Lisa Donovan, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025
Novel as the experience is for her, the spookiness surrounding it is as familiar and dog-eared as scripture: creepy nuns, ominous robed figures, lots of cheap jump scares.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2024
Tampa Bay is still a very good team, even if a bit dog-eared around the edges of its elite personnel.
—Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2023
Emily Heller, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2025
Sometimes they’ve been torn, smudged, folded or dog-eared.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2025
My copies of these books are now dog-eared to death and as appropriately stained as favorite kitchen tools.
—Lisa Donovan, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025
Novel as the experience is for her, the spookiness surrounding it is as familiar and dog-eared as scripture: creepy nuns, ominous robed figures, lots of cheap jump scares.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2024
Tampa Bay is still a very good team, even if a bit dog-eared around the edges of its elite personnel.
—Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dog-eared
Adjective
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That sounds logical, but a healthy housing market needs some extra properties to account for old or dilapidated homes that are demolished or taken out of use – not to mention some vacancies so people can move around.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2025
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The hotel is founded and managed by locals, who transformed a dilapidated bed-and-breakfast into a six-acre luxury hotel in 2001.—
Maya Kachroo-Levine,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This was to help end the puppy mill industry, where dogs are bred en masse, leading them to be born and raised in filthy and neglected conditions.—
Andrew Sheeler,
Sacramento Bee,
12 Feb. 2025
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If coordinated correctly, Trump’s tariff threats offer an enormous opportunity for America’s neglected waterfront.—
Craig Hooper,
Forbes,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The other traditional party, the Liberal Party, has splintered between those who remain loyal to Zelaya and those who led the coup, including Mauricio Villeda, the presidential candidate who leads a tattered vestige of his party.—
Dana Frank,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Nov. 2013
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What if standing up to Trump is the very thing that saves the Liberal Party, and Trudeau’s tattered legacy?—
Talib Visram,
TIME,
7 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dog-eared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dog-eared. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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