Trials wear us into a liking of what, possibly, in the first essay,
displeased us.
Locke.
To wear away, to consume; to impair, diminish, or destroy, by gradual
attrition or decay. — To wear off, to diminish or remove by attrition
or slow decay; as, to wear off the nap of cloth. — To wear on or upon,
to wear. [Obs.] "[I] weared upon my gay scarlet gites [gowns.]"
Chaucer. — To wear out. (a) To consume, or render useless, by attrition
or decay; as, to wear out a coat or a book. (b) To consume tediously.
"To wear out miserable days." Milton. (c) To harass; to tire. "[He]
shall wear out the saints of the Most High." Dan vii. 25. (d) To waste
the strength of; as, an old man worn out in military service. — To wear
the breeches. See under Breeches. [Colloq.]
Wear, v. i. 1. To endure or suffer use; to last under employment; to
bear the consequences of use, as waste, consumption, or attrition; as,
a coat wears well or ill; - - hence, sometimes applied to character,
qualifications, etc.; as, a man wears well as an acquaintance.
2. To be wasted, consumed, or diminished, by being used; to suffer
injury, loss, or extinction by use or time; to decay, or be spent,
gradually. "Thus wore out night." Milton.
Away, I say; time wears.
Shak.
Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou and this people that is with
thee.
Ex. xviii. 18.
His stock of money began to wear very low.
Sir W. Scott.
The family . . . wore out in the earlier part of the century.
Beaconsfield.
To wear off, to pass away by degrees; as, the follies of youth wear off
with age. — To wear on, to pass on; as, time wears on. G. Eliot. — To
wear weary, to become weary, as by wear, long occupation, tedious
employment, etc.
Wear, n. 1. The act of wearing, or the state of being worn; consumption
by use; diminution by friction; as, the wear of a garment.