to run ragged

Examples

• All

• Mother and father are run ragged by them but proud all the same.

  Fiction book (1999)

• "My thoughts just run me ragged."

  Fiction book (1997)

• This guy Weaver is running me ragged.

  Fiction book (1997)

• So my job might be about to run me ragged, but I am greatly glad not to have theirs.

  Fiction book (1994)

• But he's running me ragged.

  Fiction book (1999)

• By the time bedtime rolls around, we're both run ragged and exhausted!

  Blog text (9)

• And you get to a point where you've run ragged and you're going months on months on the road.

• The intense schedule of meetings has been running me ragged this week.

• After working overtime every day, she felt completely run ragged by the demands of her job.

• The teacher's constant assignments kept the students running ragged all semester long.

Synonyms

E

to exhaust

vsto run ragged

194 3.2

To make someone very tired

specifies that the energy loss comes from heavy demands placed on the person

T

to tire

vsto run ragged

23 1.0

To become very tired or make someone very tired

adds the idea that exhaustion comes from excessive assigned tasks or pressure

O

to overwork

vsto run ragged

15 4.1

To make someone work too much so they become very tired or ill

focuses more on creating extreme tiredness by overloading someone with tasks

F

to fatigue

vsto run ragged

11 4.6

To make someone very tired by hard work or long effort

focuses more on causing extreme tiredness by assigning too much work or activity

T

to tire out

vsto run ragged

10 2.1

To make a person very tired by using up their energy

stresses exhaustion caused by giving too much work rather than just long activity

T

to tucker

vsto run ragged

• Informal

8 9.4

To make someone very tired

is the neutral idiomatic expression for causing extreme tiredness through heavy work

T

to tucker out

vsto run ragged

• Informal

7 7.7

To make someone very tired

uses idiomatic language specifically about tiring someone with too much to do

R

to run (someone) ragged

vsto run ragged

• Informal

5 7.5

Make someone very tired by giving them too much work

is the same idea phrased as an idiom about heavy demands on someone

O

to overtire

vsto run ragged

3 6.8

To make someone very tired by doing too much

is narrower in stressing fatigue from excessive assigned tasks rather than general overuse

F

to frazzle

vsto run ragged

• Informal

1 6.7

To make someone very tired or stressed

highlights that the tiredness comes from heavy demands and continuous activity

K

to knock the stuffing out of

vsto run ragged

• Informal

1 8.6

To make someone feel very tired, weak, or sad

focuses more on wearing someone down through repeated demands and heavy workload

R

to run off someone's feet

vsto run ragged

• UK

7.1

To make someone very busy and tired with too much work

focuses specifically on tiring someone through heavy, repeated demands rather than general strain

S

to swamp someone with tasks

vsto run ragged

• Informal

6.3

To give someone more work than they can do

is similar but stresses causing extreme tiredness through continuous demands

O

to overtired

vsto run ragged

3.5

To make someone very sleepy from too much activity

is used when exhaustion is specifically due to repeated heavy demands rather than general fatigue

O

to overfatigue

vsto run ragged

8.4

To make someone very tired so they cannot work or think well

is the more everyday phrase for making someone exhausted by too much work

Antonyms

R

to relax

∞ 1.0

To feel less nervous and more calm

R

to refresh

50 2.8

Make someone or something feel full of energy and less tired

How Tired

to exhaust

194 3.2

to run ragged

• Informal

2 6.3

to wear out

19 2.7

to tire

23 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology