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

The series depicts the anguish of an interrupted boyhood and the awakening of a child’s conscience as their safest spaces erode. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 July 2026

With each detail, the documentary points to their interrupted lives. — Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 6 July 2026

Petersen pointed to his own experience, saying workdays are routinely interrupted once children come home from school. — Preston Fore, Fortune, 2 July 2026

That second episode was The Lion and the Rose, Joffrey and Margaery’s poison-interrupted wedding. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for interrupted

• uncorrupted
• corrupted
• disrupted
• erupted
• uninterrupted