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
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 Once the world’s leading producer, it was bankrupted by China’s price dumping. — Markos Kounalakis, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bankrupted
Adjective
  • The retail army’s outlandish behavior and eccentric stock choices—which included bankrupt Hertz and Bed Bath & Beyond—led many on Wall Street to initially dismiss them as fools who would soon be gone.
    — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million sponsorship deal with Aspiration and was granted $20 million worth of equity in the now-bankrupt company.
    — Mike Prada, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • As Vanderslice unwittingly contributed to the story with some quotes, not realizing the tone and direction of the article, his candidacy was derailed and his credibility ruined.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Some suburbs battled soil erosion, which ruined rivers and contaminated drinking water.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Last year, through Luxury Holdings LLC, Kristen and Peter Kern, previously CEO of Expedia, acquired La Perla, which had been declared insolvent after changing hands for years.
    — Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 31 Aug. 2026
  • To be sure, Social Security's trust fund is six years away from becoming insolvent, at which point the 70 million people who receive monthly benefits could see a 22% cut to their payments.
    — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • 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
  • Irene has blackmailed the Bohemian royal family, Carrie is a thief who has stolen rare stamps from a penniless woman unaware of their value, and Fanny disguises as a man to gain access to a bank vault.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Bankrupted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bankrupted. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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