interrupted

1 of 2

adjective

in·​ter·​rupt·​ed ˌin-tə-ˈrəp-təd 

1

: broken in upon : discontinuous

an interrupted stripe

interrupted service

an interrupted phone call

interrupted sleep

2

botany : not uniform : broken in arrangement or symmetry

… flowers whorled in interrupted clusters.

—Charles E. Turner

3

phonetics : consisting of or containing a stop in articulation

\k\ is an interrupted consonant

interruptedly adverb

… Jeanne's mother had been … schoolmate and good girlfriend to Maria Gostrey, who had moreover enjoyed since then, though interruptedly … , other glimpses of her.

—Henry James

interruptedness noun

"I am much obliged to you for giving me full notice," he said, with a firm intention in his tone, yet with an interruptedness in his delivery which showed that he spoke unwillingly.

—George Eliot

interrupted

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of interrupt entry 1

Examples of interrupted in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

So, my long runs happened mid-morning, in the afternoon, after hectic weekend mornings and nights of interrupted sleep. — Maureen Burke, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026

Manny Machado’s two-out single interrupted Sale striking out the side in the first inning on 16 pitches. — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 July 2026

That sort of framing, Mayer says, changes the source of these struggles from something opaque into a problem that can be observed, properly explained and, perhaps, interrupted. — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2026

Beau’s travels are constantly interrupted and delayed by meddlesome forces, much like Odysseus. — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 18 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for interrupted

• uncorrupted
• corrupted
• disrupted
• erupted
• uninterrupted