Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To strain; chafe.
  • intransitive verb To wear away (the edges of fabric, for example) by rubbing.
  • intransitive verb To become worn away or tattered along the edges.
  • noun A frayed or threadbare spot, as on fabric.
  • noun A fight; a brawl. synonym: brawl.
  • noun A heated dispute or intensely competitive situation.
  • noun A military engagement; a battle.
  • transitive verb To alarm; frighten.
  • transitive verb To drive away.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To put in fear; terrify; frighten; deter by fear.
  • To maltreat; misuse.
  • To contend; combat; fight.
  • To rub; grate.
  • To rub away the surface of; fret, as cloth by wearing, or the skin by friction; especially, to ravel out the edge of, as a piece of stuff, by drawing out threads of the warp so that the threads of the weft make a kind of fringe: in this sense usually with out.
  • To rub against something.
  • To yield to rubbing or fretting; ravel out, as cloth.
  • noun An affray; a battle; an assault; a quarrel with violence.
  • noun A brawl; a riot; a mêlée.
  • noun A chase; a hunt.
  • noun Synonyms Mêlée, Brawl, etc. See quarrel, n.
  • noun A fret or chafe in cloth, a cord, etc.; a place injured or weakened by rubbing: as, a fray in an angler's line.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To bear the expense of; to defray.
  • noun An angry quarrel; an affray; contest; combat; broil.
  • noun A fret or chafe, as in cloth; a place injured by rubbing.
  • intransitive verb To rub.
  • intransitive verb To wear out or into shreads, or to suffer injury by rubbing, as when the threads of the warp or of the woof wear off so that the cross threads are loose; to ravel.
  • transitive verb To rub; to wear off, or wear into shreds, by rubbing; to fret, as cloth.
  • transitive verb To frighten; to terrify; to alarm.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Affray; broil; contest; combat; brawl; melee.
  • noun archaic fright
  • verb intransitive To unravel; used particularly for the edge of something made of cloth, or the end of a rope.
  • verb intransitive, figuratively To cause exhaustion, wear out (a person's mental strength).
  • verb transitive (archaic) frighten

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb cause friction
  • verb wear away by rubbing
  • noun a noisy fight

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English fraien, to wear, bruise, from Old French fraier, to rub, from Latin fricāre.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English frai, shortening of affrai; see affray.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French frayer, from Latin fricō.

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Examples

  • Real Madrid also got back into the title fray, beating Valencia 2-0 after Barcelona could only draw 0-0 with Espanyol.

    Analysis 2010

  • Real Madrid also got back into the title fray, beating Valencia 2-0 after Barcelona could only draw 0-0 with Espanyol.

    Analysis 2010

  • Real Madrid also got back into the title fray, beating Valencia 2-0 after Barcelona could only draw 0-0 with Espanyol.

    Analysis 2010

  • Real Madrid also got back into the title fray, beating Valencia 2-0 after Barcelona could only draw 0-0 with Espanyol.

    Yahoo! Sports - Top News 2010

  • Real Madrid also got back into the title fray, beating Valencia 2-0 after Barcelona could only draw 0-0 with Espanyol.

    Yahoo! Sports - Top News 2010

  • Real Madrid also got back into the title fray, beating Valencia 2-0 after Barcelona could only draw 0-0 with Espanyol.

    Analysis 2010

  • One of the most prominent voices to jump into the fray is popular right-wing radio host and author Mark Levin, who went on Facebook yesterday and ripped Beck:

    Think Progress » The Right-Wing Backlash Against Glenn Beck: Stop Being A ‘Clown’ Who’s Trying To Divide Conservatives 2010

  • While this fray is playing itself out, President Barack Obama announces that, in the spirit of his long-hoped-for "bipartisanship," he is not merely willing but actually eager to work with the new Republican House and Republican Senate on budgetary matters.

    Chris Weigant: Terrifying Hallowe'en Nightmares, Left And Right Chris Weigant 2010

  • While this fray is playing itself out, President Barack Obama announces that, in the spirit of his long-hoped-for "bipartisanship," he is not merely willing but actually eager to work with the new Republican House and Republican Senate on budgetary matters.

    Chris Weigant: Terrifying Hallowe'en Nightmares, Left And Right Chris Weigant 2010

  • It's great for small kitchen wares, but hidden away in the fray is Mercado Senora, or the "witches market."

    Magnifico Chaos 2010

Comments

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  • frazzle - frequentative form ?

    September 20, 2011