woven

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   Made by passing threads, strips or fibers over and under one another to form cloth or a mat.

   Grammar: Usually before a noun: a woven basket; also the past participle of weave.

   Patterns

   • woven from something
   • hand-woven

   She bought a woven rug from a market in Peru.

   The basket was woven from willow branches.

   A tightly woven fabric keeps out the wind.

2. 2adjectiveafter a verbfigurative

   Closely joined into one whole, so that the parts cannot easily be separated.

   Grammar: Often follows be or seem and is used with into or through: woven into the story.

   Patterns

   • woven into something
   • woven through something

   Themes of loss are woven into every chapter of the book.

   Local traditions are woven through the festival.

   Her love of music was woven into daily family life.

Common combinations

tightly woven

The tightly woven fabric did not tear.

hand-woven

The shop sells hand-woven scarves.

woven into the fabric of

The tradition is woven into the fabric of village life.

woven basket

A woven basket held the fruit.

woven together

Three storylines are woven together in the final scene.

Synonyms and how they differ

interlaced

Interlaced stresses strands crossing each other and is more formal than woven.

knitted

Knitted cloth is made from looped yarn, not crossed threads, so it is not the same as woven.

intertwined

Intertwined stresses twisting around one another and suits ideas or lives, while woven suggests a deliberate pattern.

Opposites

Word family

weave verb

to make cloth by crossing threads over and under each other

weaver noun

a person who weaves cloth

weaving noun

the craft or product of making woven cloth

handwoven adjective

woven by hand, not by machine

Commonly confused: woven or wove?

Practice

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