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

Desalination plants in the Gulf have been targeted and damaged during the US-Iran war, raising significant alarm in a region that depends overwhelmingly on this technology.

— Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
The ruling, the first of its kind under Hong Kong’s Societies Ordinance, has raised alarms over freedom of association as authorities continue tightening controls after the 2019 democracy protests.

— Kanis Leung, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of alarm

Noun

Although the city does not give a breakdown of jobs by category, the creator economy has fueled some of the growth in the city’s entertainment employment over the last six years, said Patrick Prescott, Burbank’s community development director.

— Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
For a parent to refuse them outright may represent a fundamental, irreparable breakdown of the doctor-patient relationship.

— Eric Boodman, STAT, 3 Sep. 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 8 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of basket case

noun

Example Sentences

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