wear — OET · Shobdo

wear

verb

1 he was wearing a dark green suit:

be dressed in, be clothed in, have on, sport;

dress in, clothe oneself in, put on, don.

2 Barbara wore a sweet smile:

have (on one's face), present, show, display, exhibit, bear;

give, put on, assume, form one's face into, make one's face into, compose one's face into, rearrange one's face into, ease one's face into, smooth one's face into, draw one's face into, twist one's face into, tug one's face into, pull one's face into, pinch one's face into, crease one's face into, crack one's face into, screw (up) one's face into.

3 the bricks have been worn down by centuries of knife-sharpening | the waterproofing coating soon starts to wear away:

erode, abrade, scour, scratch, scrape, rasp, rub away, rub down, grind away, fret, waste away, wash away, crumble (away), wear down;

corrode, eat away (at), gnaw away (at), dissolve, bite into.

4 the tyres are wearing well:

last, endure, hold up, survive, bear up, keep going, carry on, prove durable, stand/withstand/resist wear, stand up to wear, do;

informal hang in there.

5 British, informal I've asked him to keep the bar open an hour later, but he won't wear it:

allow, permit, authorize, sanction, condone, indulge, agree to, accede to, approve of;

endure, put up with, bear, take, stand, support, submit to, undergo;

accept, swallow, tolerate, brook, countenance, admit of;

Scottish thole;

informal stick, hack, abide, stomach;

British, informal be doing with;

archaic suffer.

□ wear something down

she protested, but he wore down her resistance:

gradually overcome, slowly reduce/diminish/lessen, drain, erode, wear away, exhaust, undermine, chip away at.

□ wear off

the novelty soon wore off:

fade, dwindle, diminish, lessen, decrease, wane, ebb, subside, weaken, lose intensity, lose strength, peter out, melt away, fizzle out, pall, taper off, tail off, grow faint, grow dim, evaporate, disappear, vanish, die, come to nothing, come to a halt, come to an end, run out;

lose its effectiveness/effect.

□ wear on

as the afternoon wore on he began to look unhappy:

pass, elapse, proceed, progress, advance, move on, run its course, go by/past/on, roll by/past/on, march on, glide by/past, slide by/past, slip by/away/past, fly by/past, steal by/past, tick by/past.

□ wear out

a cheap bed will wear out faster than a quality one:

deteriorate, become worn, show signs of wear, come to the end of its life, become useless, wear thin, fray, become threadbare, go into holes, go through, wear through.

□ wear something out

he wore out six pairs of walking boots:

use up, consume, go through, wear holes in, make threadbare, make worn.

□ wear someone out

eventually her exertions wore her out:

fatigue, tire out, overtire, weary, exhaust, drain, sap, wash out, tax, overtax, enervate, debilitate, enfeeble, jade, incapacitate, devitalize, prostrate;

informal whack, bush, shatter, frazzle, wear to a frazzle, poop, take it out of, fag out, do in;

British, informal knacker.

noun

1 you won't get much wear out of something so cheap:

use, wearing, service, employment, utility, value;

informal mileage.

2 the band were dressed in evening wear:

clothes, dress, clothing, attire, garb, finery, garments, outfits, wardrobe;

British kit, strip;

informal get-up, gear, togs, clobber;

formal apparel;

literary array, raiment, habiliments.

3 choose a varnish which will withstand wear:

damage, wear and tear, battering, friction, erosion, attrition, corrosion, abrasion, deterioration, degeneration;

informal a few knocks;

rare detrition.

wear (1) Oxford Dictionary of English