broken
UK /ˈbɹəʊ.kn̩/ · US /ˈbɹoʊ.kɪn/ adjective, proper noun
Also a form of break
- adjective Fragmented; in separate pieces. “One recent morning the team had to replace a broken weather research station.”
- adjective (of a bone or body part) Fractured; having the bone in pieces. “My arm is broken!”
- adjective (of skin) Split or ruptured. “A dog bit my leg and now the skin is broken.”
- adjective (of a line) Dashed; made up of short lines with small gaps between each one and the next.
- adjective (of sleep) Interrupted; not continuous.
- adjective (meteorology, of the sky) Five-eighths to seven-eighths obscured by clouds; incompletely covered by clouds. “Tomorrow: broken skies.”
- adjective (of a melody) Having periods of silence scattered throughout; not regularly continuous.
- adjective (of a promise, etc) Breached; violated; not kept. “broken promises of neutrality”
- proper noun (derogatory, slang) Torres Strait Creole.
Synonyms
burst split intermittent spasmodic fitful ragged catchy discontinuous intermissive patchy stop-start violated borked malfunctioning bad broken-down bum bung busted cactused crushed humbled humiliated low unkept broken in rugged confused disordered upset
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English broken, from Old English brocen, ġebrocen, from Proto-Germanic *brukanaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”). Cognate with Dutch gebroken (“broken”), German Low German broken (“broken”), German gebrochen (“broken”). Morphologically broke + -n.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Separated into parts or pieces by violence; divided into fragments; as, a broken chain or rope; a broken dish.
- adjective Disconnected; not continuous; also, rough; uneven; as, a broken surface.
Etymology [From Break, v. t.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “broken”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details