frazzle

[fraz-uh l] /ˈfræz əl/

verb (used without object), verb (used with object), frazzled, frazzling.

to wear to threads or shreds; fray.

to weary; tire out:

Those six eight-year-olds frazzled me.

noun

the state of being frazzled or worn-out.

a remnant; shred.

Origin

1815-25; blend of fray² and fazzle, Middle English faselin to unravel, cognate with German faseln

Examples from the web for frazzle

And he got up to speed, and mastered the stuff and worked the staff to a frazzle.
There were offensive bosses beaten to a frazzle at one convention, and no bosses were beaten at the other.

British Dictionary definitions for frazzle

frazzle

/ˈfræzəl/

verb

(informal) to make or become exhausted or weary; tire out

a less common word for fray² (sense 1)

noun

(informal) the state of being frazzled or exhausted

a frayed end or remnant

(informal) to a frazzle, absolutely; completely (esp in the phrase burnt to a frazzle)

Word Origin

C19: probably from Middle English faselen to fray, from fasel fringe; influenced by fray²

Word Origin and History for frazzle

c.1825, "to unravel" (of clothing), from East Anglian variant of 17c. fasel "to unravel, fray" (as the end of a rope), from Middle English facelyn "to fray" (mid-15c.), from fasylle "fringe, frayed edge," diminutive of Old English fæs "fringe." Related: Frazzled, frazzling. Cf. German Faser "thread, fiber, filament," Middle Dutch vese "fringe, fiber, chaff." Probably influenced in form by fray (v.). As a noun, from 1865, American English.