as in nervous breakdown
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Recent Examples of basket case
Naím was once, in a happier day, the finance minister of Venezuela, and Hugo Chávez, who took a troubled but essentially prosperous country with a long democratic tradition and turned it into an international basket case, comes in for close study.
—
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022
When China was an economic basket case, 100 miles of ocean was more than enough deterrent.
—Roger Wicker, WSJ, 4 May 2022
The village was literally a basket case, bereft of water, food and all hope.
—Steve West, Sun Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2022
Venezuela, another socialist basket case, slips to the second-most-miserable country in the world after six years in the pole position.
—Steve H. Hanke, National Review, 16 Mar. 2022
See All Example Sentences for basket case
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022
When China was an economic basket case, 100 miles of ocean was more than enough deterrent.
—Roger Wicker, WSJ, 4 May 2022
The village was literally a basket case, bereft of water, food and all hope.
—Steve West, Sun Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2022
Venezuela, another socialist basket case, slips to the second-most-miserable country in the world after six years in the pole position.
—Steve H. Hanke, National Review, 16 Mar. 2022
See All Example Sentences for basket case
Recent Examples of Synonyms for basket case
Noun
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Originally published in 1961, the novel follows Josephine, a young woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
19 Aug. 2025
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Then there was Spark’s nervous breakdown in January 1954.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
10 Aug. 2025
Noun
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At the council meeting for the resolution, several migrants and their families spoke in favor of its passage, expressing their anxieties in day-to-day life, according to The Chronicle.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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The starting point is learning to cultivate present-moment awareness and simply noticing your anxiety.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In Washington, Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson), gets his report and responds with concern but not alarm—the belief, at the beginning, is that somehow this is a misreading or a mistake.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
3 Sep. 2025
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That triggered alarm bells for some medical associations, which issued contradictory recommendations, and also sowed confusion among pharmacists and other medical providers about the fall vaccine rollout and insurance coverage for COVID-19 vaccines.—
Kristen Jordan Shamus,
Freep.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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At Tomah, the report showed a similar breakdown, with nine shortages among clinical staff and five nonclinical.—
Natalie Eilbert,
jsonline.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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Cellphone bill flop prompts finger-pointing Hall seized on the vote breakdown as an example of Democratic lawmakers out of step with Whitmer and out of touch with public support for cellphone restrictions at school.—
Clara Hendrickson,
Freep.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Basket case.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/basket%20case. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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