broken

—brokenly, adv. —brokenness, n.

/broh"keuhn/, v.

1. pp. of break.

adj.

2. reduced to fragments; fragmented.

3. ruptured; torn; fractured.

4. not functioning properly; out of working order.

5. Meteorol. (of sky cover) being more than half, but not totally, covered by clouds. Cf. scattered (def. 4).

6. changing direction abruptly: The fox ran in a broken line.

7. fragmentary or incomplete: a broken ton of coal weighing 1,500 pounds.

8. infringed or violated: A broken promise is a betrayal of trust.

9. interrupted, disrupted, or disconnected: After the phone call he returned to his broken sleep.

10. weakened in strength, spirit, etc.: His broken health was due to alcoholism.

11. tamed, trained, or reduced to submission: The horse was broken to the saddle.

12. imperfectly spoken, as language: She still speaks broken English.

13. spoken in a halting or fragmentary manner, as under emotional strain: He uttered a few broken words of sorrow.

14. disunited or divided: Divorce results in broken families.

15. not smooth; rough or irregular: We left the plains and rode through broken country.

16. ruined; bankrupt: the broken fortunes of his family.

17. Papermaking, Print. a quantity of paper of less than 500 or 1000 sheets.

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