wearing

1 of 2

adjective (1)

wear·​ing ˈwer-iŋ How to pronounce wearing (audio)
Synonyms of wearingnext
: intended for wear
wearing apparel

wearing

2 of 2

adjective (2)

: subjecting to or inflicting wear
especially : causing fatigue
a wearing journey
wearingly
ˈwer-iŋ-lē How to pronounce wearing (audio)
adverb

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective (2)

1811, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wearing was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing wearing

Rhymes for wearing

See All Rhymes for wearing

Browse Nearby Words

weariness
wearing
wearing course
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wearing. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on wearing

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for wearing

Nglish: Translation of wearing for Spanish Speakers

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of corrode

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

5 Verbal Slip Ups and Language Mistakes

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples

More Commonly Mispronounced Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 3
See More

Popular

See More

5 Verbal Slip Ups and Language Mistakes

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
tiny woman sitting on a pile of books reading
Little Words, Big Vocabulary Quiz Time to sweat the small stuff.
See All