bankrupted 1 of 2

bankrupted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of bankrupt
as in ruined
to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts several bad investments bankrupted him

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bankrupted
Verb
The United Kingdom won the two world wars but bankrupted itself in victory. — Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026 Richard Stockton, a lawyer who signed the declaration was captured, starved, and nearly bankrupted by the British. — Joseph Andrew, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026 Most manufacturers were bankrupted by equipment failures and financial challenges, making the 1990s a tough time for wind power’s pioneers. — IEEE Spectrum, 15 June 2026 Fuel consumption for such a vessel would also likely have bankrupted the Japanese Navy. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 7 May 2026 Yet much of the region’s decline was caused by Russian or pro-Russian oligarchs who had bought up factories, bankrupted them to eliminate competition, and imposed brutal conditions on workers. — Nataliya Gumenyuk, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026 Enveloped in their own scandals of excess, Pantages, Mills and Shreve were bankrupted. — Eric Duvall, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026 Alamariu pointed out that the two European countries had effectively lost their empires by then after being bankrupted by World War II. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026 Woodstock gave its name to a generation, but the concert itself was a debacle that nearly bankrupted its promoters. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bankrupted
Adjective
  • This is going to cause somebody to go bankrupt and ruin their lives.
    — Joy Press, Vanity Fair, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Sam Bankman-Fried of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange operator FTX contributed to effective altruism causes.
    — Ashley Capoot,Jordan Novet,Annie Palmer,Lora Kolodny,Kai Nicol-Schwarz,Caleigh Keating, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Food waste ruined amid the blaze took more than two months to clean up as the operation missed several deadlines set by the city, leading to unbearable odors in the area and rodent infestations.
    — Austin Turner, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Others have used it to remove oily stains from their toddlers like crayon marks on carpet, and one reviewer says it’s saved many of their clothes from being ruined in a household with unavoidable messes from both kids and pets.
    — Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The business had been declared insolvent after changing hands for years.
    — Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026
  • At the same time, Social Security's trust fund is projected to become insolvent in six years.
    — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Yet after the apparent death of Captain Crewe in World War I, Sara’s headmistress confines the now-penniless child in the school’s attic.
    — Sohini Sarah Pillai, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
  • In the summer of 1927 three young men of means ran into a neighbor from back home in Winnetka, Illinois, on the streets of Paris, who was stranded with a penniless delegation of labor leaders and educators intended for Moscow.
    — Dan Chiasson, The New York Review of Books, 1 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Bankrupted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bankrupted. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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