Phrase: wearing thin

Associations

"Wearing thin" is an idiomatic phrase. It means that patience, tolerance, or something else is running out or becoming less effective. Imagine a piece of cloth that gets thinner and weaker after much use—that's the idea here.

Examples:

• "His excuses are wearing thin." — People are getting tired of his excuses.
• "My patience is wearing thin with all these delays." — I am losing patience.
• "The team's enthusiasm started wearing thin after many losses." — The excitement is decreasing.

A similar phrase is "running out," but "wearing thin" often suggests a gradual decrease, especially of feelings like patience or trust.

Substitution

You can replace "wearing thin" with:

• "running out" — "My patience is running out."
• "fading" — "Her interest is fading."
• "dwindling" — "Support is dwindling."

Each substitute changes the tone a bit. "Wearing thin" often feels more about frustration or irritation growing.

Deconstruction

This phrase comes from the idea of something physically getting thinner by wearing it a lot (like clothes). "Wearing" is the verb meaning to use or have on your body, and "thin" describes the state of getting less thick or strong.

So, "wearing thin" means something is becoming weaker or less strong, not in a physical sense but in feelings or patience.

Inquiry

• Can you think of a time when your patience was "wearing thin"? What happened?
• What other feelings or things could "wear thin" besides patience?
• How would you explain "wearing thin" to a friend who is learning English?