broken
//ˈbɹəʊ.kn̩//
Forms
- Comparative
- more broken
- Superlative
- most broken
Definitions
1.past participle of break
1.Fragmented; in separate pieces.
- The ground was littered with broken bones.
- A dog bit my leg and now the skin is broken.
- One recent morning the team had to replace a broken weather research station.
2.Breached; violated; not kept.
3.Non-functional; not functioning properly.
- I think my doorbell is broken.
- This is the most broken application I've seen in a long time.
- Oh man! That is just broken!
4.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?"
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #2743
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
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”).