Definition of Broken
Adjective: broken brow-kun
- Physically and forcibly separated into pieces, cracked or split
"a broken mirror"; "a broken tooth"; "a broken leg"; "his neck is broken"
- Not continuous in space, time,, sequence or varying abruptly
"broken lines of defence"; "a broken cable transmission"; "broken sleep"; "tear off the stub above the broken line"; "a broken note"; "broken sobs"
- Subdued or brought low in condition or status
"a broken man"; "his broken spirit";
- crushed, humbled, humiliated, low
- (especially of promises or contracts) having been violated or disregarded
"broken promises"; "broken contracts";
- unkept
- Tamed or trained to obey
"a horse broken to the saddle"; "this old nag is well broken in";
- broken in
- Topographically very uneven
"broken terrain";
- rugged
- Imperfectly spoken or written
"broken English"
- Thrown into a state of disarray or confusion
"troops fleeing in broken ranks";
- confused, disordered, upset
- Weakened and infirm
"broken health resulting from alcoholism"
- Destroyed financially
"the broken fortunes of the family";
- wiped out, impoverished
- Not in working order; not functioning
"a broken washing machine"; "the coke machine is broken";
- busted, kaput, knackered [Brit], rooted [Austral, NZ], out of order, on the fritz [N. Amer], on the blink
- (meteorology) discontinuous
"broken clouds"; "broken sunshine"
- Lacking a part or parts
"a broken set of encyclopaedia"
- Terminate
"break a lucky streak"; "break the cycle of poverty";
- interrupt
- Become separated into pieces or fragments
"The figurine broke";
- separate, split up, fall apart, come apart
- Render inoperable or ineffective
"You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!";
- hose [N. Amer]
- Ruin completely
- bust
- Destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments
"He broke the glass plate"; "She broke the match"
- Act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
"break a law";
- transgress, offend, infract, violate, go against, breach
- Move away or escape suddenly
"The horses broke from the stable"; "Three inmates broke jail"; "Nobody can break out--this prison is high security"; "The horses broke away from the stable";
- break out, break away
- Scatter or part
"The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"
- Force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up
"break into tears";
- burst, erupt
- Prevent completion
"break off the negotiations";
- break off, discontinue, stop
- Enter someone's (virtual or real) property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act
"Someone broke in while I was on vacation"; "They broke into my car and stole my radio!"; "who broke into my account last night?";
- break in
- Make submissive, obedient, or useful
"The horse was tough to break"; "I broke in the new intern";
- break in
- Fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns
"This sentence breaks the rules of syntax";
- violate, go against
- Surpass in excellence
"break a record";
- better
- Make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret
"he broke the news to her";
- unwrap, disclose, let on, bring out, reveal, discover, expose, divulge, give away, let out, lay bare
- Come into being
"light broke over the horizon"; "Voices broke in the air"
- Stop operating or functioning
"The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke";
- fail, go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break down
- Interrupt a continued activity
- break away
- (military) make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing
"The ranks broke"
- Curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves
"The surf broke"
- Lessen in force or effect
"break a fall";
- dampen, damp, soften, weaken
- Be broken in
"If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress"
- Come to an end
"The heat wave finally broke yesterday"
- Vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity
- Cause to give up a habit
"She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes"
- Give up
"break cigarette smoking"
- Come forth or begin from a state of latency
"The first winter storm broke over New York"
- Happen or take place
"Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months"
- Cause the failure or ruin of
"His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"; "This play will either make or break the playwright"
- Invalidate by judicial action
- Discontinue an association or relation; go different ways
"The business partners broke over a tax question"; "The couple broke up after 25 years of marriage";
- separate, part, split up, split, break up
- Assign to a lower position; reduce in rank
- demote, bump, relegate, kick downstairs
- Reduce to bankruptcy
"My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!";
- bankrupt, ruin, smash
- Change directions suddenly
- Emerge from the surface of a body of water
"The whales broke"
- Break down, literally or metaphorically
"The dam broke";
- collapse, fall in, cave in, give, give way, founder
- Do a break dance
"Kids were break-dancing at the street corner";
- break dance, break-dance
- Exchange for smaller units of money
"I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy"
- Destroy the completeness of a set of related items
"The book dealer would not break the set";
- break up
- (billiards) make the opening shot that scatters the balls
- Separate from a clinch, in boxing
"The referee broke the boxers"
- Go to pieces
"The lawn mower finally broke";
- wear, wear out, bust, fall apart
- Break a piece from a whole
"break a branch from a tree";
- break off, snap off
- Become punctured or penetrated
"The skin broke"
- Pierce or penetrate
"The blade broke her skin"
- Be released or become known; of news
"News of her death broke in the morning";
- get out, get around
- Cease an action temporarily
"let's break for lunch";
- pause, intermit
- Interrupt the flow of current in
"break a circuit"
- Undergo breaking
"The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages"
- Find a flaw in
"break an alibi"; "break down a proof"
- Find the solution or key to
"break the code"
- Change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another
"Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children"
- Happen
"These political movements break from time to time";
- recrudesce, develop
- Become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
"The glass broke when it was heated";
- crack, check
- Crack; of the male voice in puberty
"his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir"
- Fall sharply
"stock prices broke"
- Fracture a bone of
"I broke my foot while playing hockey";
- fracture
- Diminish or discontinue abruptly
"The patient's fever broke last night"
- Weaken or destroy in spirit or body
- Yield information under interrogation or torture
"They managed to break him on the third day";
- crack
- Successfully decipher a code
- crack
See also:
broke
brokenhearted
Anagrams containing the word broken