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broken

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verb

past participle of break
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as in demoted
to bring to a lower grade or rank the captain was broken to lieutenant commander for disobeying a direct order from his group commander

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as in deciphered
to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language Alan Turing and the Bletchley Park mathematicians broke the Enigma code being used by the Nazis

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as in plowed
to cut into and turn over the sod of (a piece of land) using a bladed implement farmers once broke fields with horse-drawn plows

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as in stalled
to stop functioning after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day

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as in ruined
to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts another bad investment could break him

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as in emerged
to penetrate the surface (as of water) from below dolphins were breaking all around the boat

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Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of broken
Adjective
Following years of revolving leadership and a broken financial model for operating single-room occupancy hotels, the trust announced its impending failure in early 2023. Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024 The next morning, Karen was missing — but her car was found abandoned by two hunters on a rural roadside, as well as two broken cell phones near a neighbor's house, ABC News reported. Jordana Comiter, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
Fanatics announced Monday that its previous all-time, 30-day, post-WNBA Finals sales record was broken by the new champion New York Liberty, whose championship merchandise became the fastest selling in league history in fewer than 24 hours. Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 21 Oct. 2024 CISOs know the system is broken. Saket Modi, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for broken 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broken
Adjective
  • The jagged shadows of buttes and spires disappeared and reappeared, a merry-go-round of angles cast on to the cascading rocks cradling the Colorado River.
    Lane Sainty, The Arizona Republic, 3 Nov. 2024
  • To the north, not visible from the beach, was a distant shore, where rows of mountains resembling jagged waves disappeared into the mist.
    Greg Jackson, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • The move relegates Miller Moss to a reserve role after nine uneven starts this season.
    Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
  • But the reality has been far more sluggish, marked by incremental progress and uneven adoption.
    Zennon Kapron, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • But that hasn’t stopped the likes of Lego and Hasbro from pushing ahead.
    Andrew Webster, The Verge, 4 Oct. 2024
  • According to the complaint, Roe stopped working for Brooks and moved to Mississippi around May 2021.
    Rachel DeSantis, People.com, 4 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • The legislation created a formal legal basis for discriminating against non-Jews and demoted the status of the Arab language, which until then had been an official language in Israel.
    Dahlia Scheindlin, Foreign Affairs, 27 Sep. 2024
  • Foreign experts can be swiftly deported or politely asked to leave, and local ones can be demoted with virtually no explanation.
    Calvert W. Jones, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2019
Verb
  • The distribution of Pandas in a Pennsylvania public school district led to a 2005 district court decision that determined the school board had violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
    Samantha Riedel, Them, 4 Oct. 2024
  • And can anyone even count at this point how many times characters on this show have violated HIPAA?
    Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 4 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • This makes mass production of the dry cathodes a tough challenge, but one that could revolutionize battery technology if solved.
    Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2024
  • The discovery was made by an anonymous treasure hunter who had successfully solved the complex puzzles the hunt’s creator set out.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • It was later returned and bolted to the ground.
    Laura Romero, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2024
  • In Wausau, the drop box has since been returned and is now bolted to the ground outside City Hall.
    Annabella Rosciglione, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • For example, a $10M bet for an outcome versus $500 spread across multiple small bets could reflect one wealthy trader's position rather than true crowd sentiment.
    Andrey Sergeenkov, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
  • This activity will spread into the East Wednesday night.
    Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 27 Nov. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near broken

Cite this Entry

“Broken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broken. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

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