Synonyms

wearing

American

[wair-ing] / ˈwɛər ɪŋ /

adjective

gradually impairing or wasting.

Reading small print can be wearing on the eyes.
wearying or exhausting.

a wearing task.
relating to or made for wear.

wearing British

/ ˈwɛərɪŋ /

adjective

causing fatigue or exhaustion; tiring

"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

Other Word Forms

unwearing adjective
wearingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of wearing

First recorded in 1805–15; wear + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The patch of bus-stop snow that’s turned the color of weak coffee, shared democratically with a pack of teenage boys wearing basketball shorts under their puffer coats.

From Salon

And winning best breakthrough artist, Lola Young noted: "I'm not wearing eye lashes so I don't know how I feel about that right now but we'll make it work."

From BBC

Hayden, from Cardiff, said she did briefly consider wearing her mum's old wedding dress but decided against it because it was no longer in fashion.

From BBC

Vance is wearing a suit and white shirt, without a tie.

From Barron's

“Chuck is failing us all,” said Paul Wisor, grim-faced and wearing a blue puffer jacket, as he stood before the council and a packed room of residents.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023