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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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Example 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
Reed was shirtless, barefoot and bleeding from numerous cuts from the broken window. Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025 Mine-Cart Madness, in the Donkey Kong Country subsection of Super Nintendo World, already has a talking point: A moment where the car appears to leap over a gap in its broken rail. Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2025
Verb
Buffalo’s season is all but over, and the team has looked broken. Matthew Fairburn, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024 When the pot was broken, the gifts would spill out, acting as an offering to Huitzilopochtli. Monica Navarro, The Arizona Republic, 24 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for broken 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broken
Adjective
  • Sea oats and fir trees dance in the breeze as seagulls squawk in a bright blue sky and the mighty Pacific crashes against the jagged shoreline a few dozen yards away.
    Blane Bachelor, AFAR Media, 12 Feb. 2025
  • The neck’s jagged base suggests that the head was torn from a larger, perhaps full-length figure, but the sculpture reveals almost no other significant damage.
    Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • From an uneven college career to constantly being doubted in the league, Hurts has had to silence haters with his wins and believe in himself when others didn’t.
    Kathleen Newman-Bremang, refinery29.com, 10 Feb. 2025
  • And the uneven division of the Keith and Vera plotlines makes Köln 75 a movie without a narrative center.
    David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Details matter, as the characters in Season 2 never stopped reminding us.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
  • In the first day or so after the snow stopped falling, Unified Government crews focused on clearing major thoroughfares.
    Alecia Taylor, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • But even if Rossi does get demoted to PP2, his even-strength time alongside an MVP-caliber winger should make up for it.
    Shayna Goldman, The Athletic, 3 Jan. 2025
  • Dillingham recalled his early days as a graduate assistant and the time then-Arizona State coach Todd Graham demoted him so former quarterback Taylor Kelly could take his position.
    Doug Haller, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • The plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment that the commission, by approving the plans, has violated their fundamental rights.
    Amy Green, Orlando Sentinel, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Months later, the Department of Justice concluded that five Texas juvenile detention centers violated children's constitutional and civil rights.
    Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • People only become dependent if every problem is solved for them.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
  • This under-desk walking pad solved my problem.
    Cecily McAndrews, Health, 5 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • After realizing the mother of three was awake, the intruder immediately bolted out out of the room.
    Vivian Kwarm, New York Daily News, 17 Dec. 2024
  • An overdose episode — Kiana bolted barefoot from their rural home and went missing overnight in the woods — brought police attention and led to charges for child endangerment.
    John Branch, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, contends that the new policy is spreading fear of raids, thus lowering attendance at worship services and other valuable church programs.
    CBS News, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2025
  • Another winter storm is slated to bring heavy snow and ice to the Central Plains later Tuesday, and spread into the Midwest and Great Lakes Wednesday.
    Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near broken

Cite this Entry

“Broken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broken. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.

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