Frayed [verb]

Ouattara, who just completed his second term as president, had previously said he wouldn’t run in 2020, but then jumped into the fray after the sudden death of his handpicked successor.

Other sounds join the fray — calls too high-pitched for human ears to hear.

American brands like the coffee chain Starbucks, tech giant Apple, and shoe retailer Vans struggled to stay out of the fray since Beijing viewed any perceived support for the protests as a direct affront to its national sovereignty.

Gore, both physically and intellectually restless, entered the ecological fray after dipping his toes in several other scientific ponds.

During their confirmation hearings, would-be Supreme Court justices usually present themselves as neutral arbiters of law who make their decisions above the political fray.

Nevertheless, he was girt with a sword in a ragged scabbard hanging from a frayed and shabby belt of leather.

Let alone its being months behind the fashion, it was frayed around the bottom and the front breadth was sorely stained.

And MacRae's patience snapped like a frayed thread before many minutes of futile query.

On the tenth floor, he moved quickly down the frayed carpet of a corridor and found the service stairs.

He raised his frayed cap politely and asked whether she were Mademoiselle Orlebar.