as in nervous breakdown
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Recent Examples of basket case
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
The Breakfast Club stars Molly Ringwald (Claire, the princess), Emilio Estevez (Andrew, the athlete), Judd Nelson (John, the criminal), Ally Sheedy (Allison, the basket case), and Anthony Michael Hall (Brian, the brain).
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2025
Communist China was a basket case under one-man rule.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 21 June 2022
See All Example Sentences for 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
The Breakfast Club stars Molly Ringwald (Claire, the princess), Emilio Estevez (Andrew, the athlete), Judd Nelson (John, the criminal), Ally Sheedy (Allison, the basket case), and Anthony Michael Hall (Brian, the brain).
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2025
Communist China was a basket case under one-man rule.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 21 June 2022
See All Example Sentences for basket case
Recent Examples of Synonyms for basket case
Noun
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Mostly because Kiesling’s voice is delightful, and this chronicle of Daphne—a young mother-intellectual on the verge of a nervous breakdown—is open-hearted and unsparing about the work that goes into balancing infant care with day job.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
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As for this devastated, miserable, freaked out, walking nervous breakdown of a man?—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
25 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The president is fighting against historical headwinds for the party in power and, like President Joe Biden before him, is navigating voter anxiety about the cost of living in America.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Mar. 2026
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In a year where anxiety over studio contraction and the rise of artificial intelligence often consumed the industry, both films gave Hollywood fresh hope.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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These signals act like an internal alarm.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Mar. 2026
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For years, lawmakers warned this wasn’t just an economic story but a matter of national security; only recently did Washington shift from alarm to action.—
Adam Ciralsky,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Read on to learn what distinguishes fast running from slow running, the unique benefits of each, and the ideal breakdown within a training program, depending on your goals.—
Jenny McCoy,
SELF,
20 Mar. 2026
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The breakdown of gender relations in the United States isn’t an internet freakshow anymore.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Basket case.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/basket%20case. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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