frazzled

IPA/ˈfræzld/
KK[frˈæzəld]IPA/ˈfræzld/

frazzled — adjective

  • frazzledpositive
  • more frazzledcomparative
  • most frazzledsuperlative

1. feeling worn down and easily upset after dealing with too many demands or stress

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

feeling worn down and easily upset after dealing with too many demands or stressful events in a short period of time

Example

After a full day of back-to-back meetings, Nkechi felt frazzled and close to tears.

felt frazzled — describing an emotional state after a tiring experience

The children were frazzled and tearful when the long car journey finally ended.

Common collocations
  • feel frazzled
  • look frazzled
  • completely frazzled
  • a bit frazzled
  • mentally frazzled
Synonyms
  • exhausted

    focuses more on physical tiredness; frazzled adds the sense of frayed nerves and irritability

  • stressed

    describes mental pressure and worry; frazzled emphasises the resulting worn-out state rather than the pressure itself

  • burned out

    suggests a long-term state of depletion after months or years; frazzled is usually temporary and tied to a specific event or day

  • worn out

    more casual and can be purely physical; frazzled always carries a mental or emotional edge

Antonyms

Usage Note

Typically used with intensifiers like completely, totally, or absolutely. Describes a temporary state, not a permanent personality trait.

Common Mistakes

I felt frazzled about the presentation.
I felt frazzled after the presentation.
frazzled describes the worn-out state that follows stress, not the anxious anticipation before an event.

2. dried up and visibly damaged from too much heat — used of skin, hair, food, or m

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

dried up and visibly damaged from too much heat — used of skin, hair, food, or materials that have spent too long under harsh sunlight or on a hot stove

Example

After six hours in the sun, Darius's shoulders were frazzled and peeling.

frazzled + body part — describing sun-damaged skin

The frazzled ends of the beach towel had been bleached white by years of sun.

Common collocations
  • frazzled hair
  • frazzled skin
  • frazzled edges
  • frazzled rope
Synonyms
  • scorched

    implies burning at high heat; frazzled can mean dried out by sun as well as fire

  • parched

    focuses on extreme dryness alone; frazzled always includes visible damage or deterioration

  • sunburned

    specific to sun damage on skin; frazzled applies to hair, rope, food, and other materials too

Antonyms

Usage Note

Far less common than the 'exhausted and irritable' meaning. Found mostly in descriptions of sun damage, overcooked food, or weathered materials. Distinguish from sense 1 (EXHAUSTED AND IRRITABLE), which describes a person's mental state.

Word family

  • frazzle
    verbB2
  • frazzling
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Frazzled combines tiredness with a mental edge that its synonyms split apart. Someone exhausted is deeply tired, usually physically, and needs rest — but may still be calm and patient. Someone stressed is under mental pressure, still alert and functioning, and not necessarily tired at all. Burned out describes a long-term state after months or years of overwork, with loss of motivation and often depression; frazzled, by contrast, is temporary and tied to a specific hectic day or event. Overwhelmed suggests being flooded by too many demands at once and feeling unable to cope. Frazzled sits in the middle: you have coped with the demands, but they have worn you out and left you irritable and on edge. Compare: 'After the triple shift she was exhausted but calm' versus 'After the triple shift she was frazzled and snapped at the first person who spoke to her.'

exhausted ↗stressed ↗burned out ↗overwhelmed ↗

Etymology

English dialectalAmerican English

Frazzled comes from the verb frazzle, which appeared in 19th-century American English meaning 'to fray or wear out.' It probably developed as a blend of fray (to unravel) and fazzle, an older English dialect word meaning to tangle or ravel threads. By the early 20th century, the adjective frazzled was commonly used to describe people worn out by stress or exhaustion. The literal sense of physical burning or drying out developed from the same root idea of something being worn or eaten away past its limits.

First known use

1854

1854, in the meaning defined at sense 2