BASKET CASE Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

basket case

noun

Definition of basket case

as in nervous breakdown

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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 basket case Though the microbus appeared unscathed, the vehicle in reality was a basket case and in need of more than 900 replacement parts, Volkswagen of America said in a statement on its restoration. — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 24 Nov. 2025 America has become a fiscal basket case, and neither party is offering any kind of serious solution for a disaster that is already contributing to brutal inflation and may one day crush the value of the dollar. — Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 31 Oct. 2025 His main accomplishment was to transform the country by giving us Joe Biden who then transformed the country into a basket case. — Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 16 Oct. 2025 Over the course of their day together, Claire the princess (Ringwald), Andrew the jock (Estevez), Brian the brain (Hall), Allison the basket case (Sheedy) and John the criminal (Nelson) begin to drop their stereotypical public facades and reveal their private struggles. — Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 16 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for basket case

Recent Examples of Synonyms for basket case

Noun

Gloria Steinem attributed her mother's nervous breakdown before she was born, and her treatment in mental institutions and the workforce thereafter, as key to her interest in social injustices.

— Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
In 1944 her parents divorced, and 10-year-old Gloria was left to take care of her mother, a once-promising journalist who struggled to combine her work with running a household and who eventually suffered a nervous breakdown.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of nervous breakdown

Noun

And three, sometimes four, of those many waking hours are spent in the car — bouncing from home to school to her second or third job and home again — with music at full blast to drown out the babble of anxiety, most of it financial.

— Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026
This can help decrease anxiety and increase confidence by removing the pressure of one ideal performance and shifting focus to the present moment.

— Lennon Sherburne, NPR, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of anxiety

Noun

According to the news release, a second alarm was called for more firefighters and equipment because of the size of the fire and threat to other businesses.

— Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 4 Oct. 2026
Alito’s concerns are not unfounded, as threats to members in recent history have raised alarm about justices’ safety.

— Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of alarm

Noun

Pourharton presented a breakdown of sales at GG Mart showing groceries accounted for about $203,000 in business over the past nine months, well more than half of the roughly $384,000 in overall sales that include tobacco and vaping products.

— Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
Process for Serra is autotelic; the activities on the Verb List are ongoing, interrupted only by completion or breakdown.

— Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of breakdown

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basket

basket case

basket cases

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“Basket case.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/basket%20case. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of basket case

noun

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