Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Tattered and torn; in shreds: Describes something, typically fabric or material, that is severely ripped, frayed, or reduced to ragged pieces.
   • Battered and shattered; utterly devastated: Describes a state of complete physical or metaphorical ruin, often due to a violent force or intense experience.

2. Adverb:

   • In a tattered and devastated manner: Used to modify a verb, describing an action that results in or occurs with a state of being torn apart or thoroughly beaten.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sau cơn bão, những lá cờ bay phấp phới trở nên tơi tả. (After the storm, the fluttering flags became tattered and torn.)
  • Đội bóng thua một trận đấu tơi tả. (The soccer team suffered a devastating defeat.)
• Adverb:
  • Chiếc ô bị gió thổi tơi tả. (The umbrella was blown to shreds by the wind.)

Advanced Usage

• Often used for dramatic emphasis to convey extreme damage or defeat. It is more intense than simply "rách" (torn).
• Commonly paired with verbs indicating destruction, such as "bị đánh" (to be beaten/hit) or "bị thổi" (to be blown).

Variants and Related Words

• Tả tơi: A direct synonym with identical meaning and usage.
  • Tinh thần anh ấy tan tả tơi sau sự kiện đó. (His spirit was shattered after that event.)

Synonyms

• Tattered: worn and torn into shreds.
• Shredded: torn or cut into ragged strips.
• Devastated: completely destroyed or ruined.
• Shattered: broken violently into pieces; utterly defeated.

Related Idioms

• Thua tơi tả: to be thoroughly defeated.
  • Đối thủ yếu hơn nên họ đã thua tơi tả. (They were the weaker opponent, so they lost decisively.)
• Nát tơi tả: to be smashed to pieces.
  • Chiếc bình rơi xuống đất và vỡ nát tơi tả. (The vase fell to the ground and shattered into smithereens.)