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broken

verb
/ˈbɹəʊ.kn̩/UK/ˈbɹoʊ.kɪn/US

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.

  1. derived from *brekaną✻ — “to break”
  2. inherited from *brukanaz✻
  3. inherited from brocen
  4. inherited from broken

Definitions

  1. past participle of break

  2. Fragmented

    Fragmented; in separate pieces.

    • One recent morning the team had to replace a broken weather research station.
    • Local people say there were Russian and Chechen forces here.[…]Over here on the wall, one interesting detail- a single word, which someone has written in broken English: "Sori".

  3. Breached

    Breached; violated; not kept.

    • broken promises of neutrality
    • broken vows
    • the broken covenant
  4. ›+ 6 more definitions

    1. Non-functional

      Non-functional; not functioning properly.

      • I think my doorbell is broken.

    2. Completely defeated and dispirited

      Completely defeated and dispirited; shattered; destroyed.

      • The bankruptcy and divorce, together with the death of his son, left him completely broken.
      • He said, "Son, when you grow up / Would you be the savior of the broken / The beaten, and the damned?"
      • And oh, maybe I see a part of me in them / The missing piece, always trying to fit in / The shattered heart, hungry for a home / No, you're not alone / I love the broken ones / I love the broken ones

    3. Having no money

      Having no money; bankrupt, broke.

    4. Uneven.

      • All that day they rode into broken land. The prairie with its grass and rolling hills was behind them, and they entered a sparse, dry, rocky country, full of draws and short cañons and ominous buttresses.

    5. Overpowered

      Overpowered; overly powerful; giving a player too much power.

      • This item is incredibly broken. I win almost every run I get to use it.

    6. Torres Strait Creole.

The neighborhood

Derived

a broken clock is right twice a day, breach, break, broke, broken arrow, broken-backed, broken bar, broken bird, broken bones, Broken Bow, broken breast, broken Britain, broken by design, broken chord, broken clock is right twice a day, broken clouds, broken consort, Broken Dam, broken diagonal, broken down, broken English, broken field, brokenhanded, broken-handed, Broken Head, broken heart, brokenhearted, broken-hearted, broken heart syndrome, broken-heart syndrome, Broken Hill, broken home, broken in, brokenly, broken man, broken-mouthed, brokenness, broken number, broken pipe, broken plural · +31 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at broken. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01broken02violated03victimized04victim05killed06inactivated07inactivate08inactive

A definitional loop anchored at broken. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at broken

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA