Broken
['brəʊk(ə)n] or ['brokən]
Definition
(adj.) physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split; 'a broken mirror'; 'a broken tooth'; 'a broken leg'; 'his neck is broken' .
(adj.) (especially of promises or contracts) having been violated or disregarded; 'broken (or unkept) promises'; 'broken contracts' .
(adj.) not continuous in space, time, or sequence or varying abruptly; 'broken lines of defense'; 'a broken cable transmission'; 'broken sleep'; 'tear off the stub above the broken line'; 'a broken note'; 'broken sobs' .
(adj.) lacking a part or parts; 'a broken set of encyclopedia' .
(adj.) discontinuous; 'broken clouds'; 'broken sunshine' .
(adj.) out of working order (`busted' is an informal substitute for `broken'); 'a broken washing machine'; 'the coke machine is broken'; 'the coke machine is busted' .
(adj.) destroyed financially; 'the broken fortunes of the family' .
(adj.) weakened and infirm; 'broken health resulting from alcoholism' .
(adj.) thrown into a state of disarray or confusion; 'troops fleeing in broken ranks'; 'a confused mass of papers on the desk'; 'the small disordered room'; 'with everything so upset' .
(adj.) imperfectly spoken or written; 'broken English' .
(adj.) subdued or brought low in condition or status; 'brought low'; 'a broken man'; 'his broken spirit' .
(adj.) topographically very uneven; 'broken terrain'; 'rugged ground' .
(adj.) tamed or trained to obey; 'a horse broken to the saddle'; 'this old nag is well broken in' .
Checker: Tom--From WordNet
Definition
(p. p.) of Break
(v. t.) Separated into parts or pieces by violence; divided into fragments; as, a broken chain or rope; a broken dish.
(v. t.) Disconnected; not continuous; also, rough; uneven; as, a broken surface.
(v. t.) Fractured; cracked; disunited; sundered; strained; apart; as, a broken reed; broken friendship.
(v. t.) Made infirm or weak, by disease, age, or hardships.
(v. t.) Subdued; humbled; contrite.
(v. t.) Subjugated; trained for use, as a horse.
(v. t.) Crushed and ruined as by something that destroys hope; blighted.
(v. t.) Not carried into effect; not adhered to; violated; as, a broken promise, vow, or contract; a broken law.
(v. t.) Ruined financially; incapable of redeeming promises made, or of paying debts incurred; as, a broken bank; a broken tradesman.
(v. t.) Imperfectly spoken, as by a foreigner; as, broken English; imperfectly spoken on account of emotion; as, to say a few broken words at parting.
Typed by Billie
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Shattered, rent, severed, separated.[2]. Weakened, impaired, feeble, shaken, spent, wasted, exhausted.[3]. Abrupt, craggy, steep, precipitous, rough.
Typed by Clint
Examples
- As he extended his hand with a magnificently forgiving air, and as I was broken by illness and unfit to quarrel, I took it. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- The ice, you see, was broken between us--and I thought I would take care, on the next occasion, that Mr. Betteredge was out of the way. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- The animal was not there at all, only the heavy, broken beauty. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- And you would find the habit was broken. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- His speech had been whispered, broken, and indistinct; but by a great effort he had made it plain enough to be unmistakeable. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- For Frederick had broken down now, and all his theories were of no use to him. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- I think they would, came from under the hat, in a grim tone, quite as touching as a broken one. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- But I will drop it in that gorge like a broken bird cage. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- The broken-spirited, old, maternal grandfather was likewise subject to the little tyrant. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- He had a rather heavy, slack, broken beauty, white and firm. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- He paused for a few seconds, and added in a voice broken by emotion, 'You have loved her from a child, my friend. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Gutenberg sat studying the broken block of wood. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- It is not a passionate quarrel that would have broken my heart; it is the steady opposition and persistence in going wrong that he has shown. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- The plaster of the broken houses was gray and wet. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- Thirdly, Account for that propensity, which this illusion gives, to unite these broken appearances by a continued existence. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- If I have not (Macbeth-like) broken up the feast with most admired disorder, Daisy. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Some miles from New Carthage the levee to Bayou Vidal was broken in several places, overflowing the roads for the distance of two miles. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Another silence succeeded this short dialogue: which was again broken by the stranger. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- William's sally had quite broken and cast her down. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- He did not care if in breaking Germany Europe was broken; his mind did not go far enough beyond the Rhine to understand that possibility. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- I tried again to sleep; but my heart beat anxiously: my inward tranquillity was broken. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- She took a little clod of earth from the broken ground where he had stumbled, and threw it in. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Important interviews would be broken off to get in a visit to some old historical mansion. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- A great astonishment burst upon him, as if the air had broken. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Bitzer,' said Mr. Gradgrind, broken down, and miserably submissive to him, 'have you a heart? Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- I had not realized it was so broken up. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- Pride was broken down between these two. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- That was a slander; they were broken to the saddle when I got them and cost nearly twenty dollars. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- But there are not great estates that must be broken up? Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- It would have been a much better transgression had I broken the bond of secrecy and told you every thing. Jane Austen. Emma.
Typed by Clint