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

In 1965, the BBC were broadcasting a rain-interrupted tour match between Kent and South Africa from Canterbury. —James Wallace, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025

The few people who protest against the war on radio and television are interrupted and censored. —Uriel Kon september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025

At the same time, Tyler Glasnow was having the best start of his injury-interrupted season. —Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 31 Aug. 2025

For working mothers who already face the physical toll of interrupted sleep, household labor and caretaking, standing desks can exacerbate, rather than ease, daily strain. —Michelle Stansbury, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for interrupted

• uncorrupted
• corrupted
• disrupted
• erupted
• uninterrupted