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broken

Syllabification: (bro·ken)
Pronunciation: /ˈbrōkən/

past participle of break1
Translate broken | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of broken

adjective

  • 1having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order:a broken arm
  • (of a relationship) ended, such as through infidelity:a broken marriage
  • disrupted or divided:broken families
  • (of an agreement or promise) not observed by one of the parties involved.
  • 2(of a person) having given up all hope; despairing:he went to his grave a broken man
  • 3having breaks or gaps in continuity:a broken white line across the road
  • (of speech or a language) spoken falteringly, as if overcome by emotion, or with many mistakes, as by a foreigner:a young man talking in broken Italian
  • 4having an uneven and rough surface:broken ground

Phrases

broken record

annoying repetition, as likened to a scratched phonograph record that repeats the same brief passage over and over:the words echoed through his head like a broken record

Derivatives

brokenly

adverb

brokenness

noun

broken in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of broken in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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