Definition

Adjective: 1. Worn or faded from being on display in a store: Used to describe merchandise that has deteriorated in appearance due to being handled or exposed for sale. 2. Repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse: Used figuratively to describe ideas, phrases, or expressions that have become stale, unoriginal, or clichéd from excessive repetition.

Usage and Examples

• Literal meaning (describing merchandise):

  • The bookstore sold the last copy at a discount because it was shopworn.
  • They cleared the shopworn items from the front display.

• Figurative meaning (describing ideas or language):

  • The politician's arguments were shopworn and failed to inspire the audience.
  • The article relied on shopworn clichés instead of fresh analysis.

Advanced Usage

• The figurative use is more common in modern English. When used literally, it often implies a reduction in value or desirability.
• It can describe anything that has lost its novelty or appeal through excessive exposure.

Variants and Related Words

• Shop-soiled (adjective, chiefly British): A synonym for the literal meaning of 'shopworn' (describing merchandise).
• Timeworn (adjective): Similar to the figurative sense, meaning showing the effects of long use or age.
• Threadbare (adjective): Worn thin from overuse; can apply to fabric or, figuratively, to ideas.

Synonyms

• For the literal sense: Display-worn, handled, faded.
• For the figurative sense: Hackneyed, trite, clichéd, stale, overused, banal, commonplace.

Antonyms

• For the literal sense: Pristine, mint, fresh, new.
• For the figurative sense: Original, fresh, novel, innovative, new.

Notes

• The word is a compound of "shop" + "worn," but functions as a single adjective.
• Its figurative application is an example of a metaphor, comparing overused ideas to merchandise that has been physically degraded by exposure in a store.

Adjective

1. repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
   • bromidic sermons
   • his remarks were trite and commonplace
   • hackneyed phrases
   • a stock answer
   • repeating threadbare jokes
   • parroting some timeworn axiom
   • the trite metaphor `hard as nails'
2. worn or faded from being on display in a store
   • shopworn merchandise at half price