Synonyms of break

break 1 of 3

verb (1)

1

as in to disrupt

to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly

hated telling her that I had broken her favorite glass vase

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disrupt
• fracture
• fragment
• disintegrate
• split
• destroy
• reduce
• shatter
• ruin
• smash
• dismember
• break up
• rive
• bust
• burst
• blast
• powder
• crack
• explode
• pop
• crush
• wreck
• pulverize
• grind
• detonate
• chip
• blow up
• shiver
• atomize
• splinter
• implode
• sliver

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fix
• repair
• rebuild
• patch
• heal
• reconstruct
• mend
• renovate
• recondition
• doctor

2

as in to stop

to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end

the final vote broke the deadlock

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stop
• halt
• cease
• end
• quit
• delay
• drop
• suspend
• shut off
• cut off
• can
• lay off
• finish
• discontinue
• conclude
• cut out
• leave off
• break off
• break up
• desist (from)
• check
• pack (up or in)
• give over
• have done with
• knock off
• complete
• pause
• block
• ruin
• put the kibosh on
• stay
• close (down)
• hinder
• impede
• hold
• stem
• destroy
• obstruct
• hold back
• suppress
• brake
• dam
• detain
• dissolve
• deactivate
• abort
• blockade
• scuttle
• squelch
• turn back
• kill
• abolish
• arrest
• stunt
• stamp
• call
• rein (in)
• demolish
• clamp down
• squash
• staunch
• snuff
• annul
• stanch
• kibosh

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• continue
• carry on
• run on
• keep up
• proceed
• advance
• progress
• drive
• stir
• follow through (with)
• propel
• actuate
• impel

3

as in to reduce

to bring to a lower grade or rank

the captain was broken to lieutenant commander for disobeying a direct order from his group commander

Synonyms & Similar Words

• reduce
• demote
• degrade
• downgrade
• sack
• dismiss
• can
• lay off
• bust
• disrate
• downsize
• fire
• humiliate
• humble
• debase
• demean
• abase
• cashier
• lower

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• raise
• promote
• advance
• elevate
• hire

4

as in to decipher

to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language

Alan Turing and the Bletchley Park mathematicians broke the Enigma code being used by the Nazis

Synonyms & Similar Words

• decipher
• crack
• decrypt
• solve
• decode
• translate
• render
• unravel
• figure out
• unscramble
• work
• work out
• puzzle (out)
• descramble
• dope (out)
• unriddle

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• code
• encode
• cipher
• encrypt
• mix (up)
• encipher
• jumble (up)
• garble

5

as in to pause

to come to a temporary halt in one's activity

she broke from her ruminations to find that it was already dinnertime

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pause
• hesitate
• stop
• interrupt
• hold one's horses
• catch one's breath
• finish
• break in
• end
• cease
• lay off
• terminate
• discontinue
• lapse
• let up
• quit
• knock off

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• continue
• persist
• advance
• extend
• stretch
• progress
• prolong

6

as in to plow

to cut into and turn over the sod of (a piece of land) using a bladed implement

farmers once broke fields with horse-drawn plows

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plow
• rake
• till
• cultivate
• furrow
• fallow
• hoe
• harrow
• list
• rototill

7

as in to violate

to fail to keep

had to confess that he had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone

Synonyms & Similar Words

• violate
• breach
• fracture
• transgress
• contravene
• infringe (on or upon)
• offend
• ignore
• disobey
• resist
• rebel
• pass over
• traduce
• disregard
• blow off
• withstand
• flout
• slight
• tune out
• neglect
• dismiss
• brush (off)
• defy
• wink (at)
• shrug off
• pooh
• scorn
• overlook
• pooh-pooh
• overpass

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• follow
• observe
• obey
• comply (with)
• serve
• conform (to)
• mind
• submit (to)
• hear
• yield (to)
• watch
• attend
• notice
• listen (to)
• note
• mark
• surrender (to)
• regard
• defer (to)
• heed

8

as in to solve

to find an answer for through reasoning

Professor Bates broke the problem when she realized that it was possible to synthesize the necessary compounds

Synonyms & Similar Words

• solve
• unravel
• answer
• resolve
• figure out
• crack
• work
• work out
• decipher
• puzzle (out)
• decide
• dope (out)
• conclude
• deduce
• riddle (out)
• infer
• reason
• unriddle
• straighten (out)
• gather
• guess
• judge
• clear (up)
• speculate
• divine
• presume
• iron out
• untie
• assume
• unscramble
• untangle
• decode
• conjecture

9

as in to damage

to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of

I broke a tooth on the hard candy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• damage
• injure
• mar
• compromise
• hurt
• weaken
• cripple
• erode
• spoil
• impair
• bloody
• harm
• cross (up)
• destroy
• flaw
• undermine
• disfigure
• ruin
• deface
• shatter
• vitiate
• blemish
• crab
• deteriorate
• wound
• endamage
• wear (away)
• batter
• tarnish
• scour
• smash
• demolish
• dent
• wreck
• enfeeble
• wash out
• wipe out
• ding
• blight
• torture
• botch
• mutilate
• gum (up)
• disable
• torment
• maim
• enervate
• lacerate
• devastate
• decimate
• tear down
• pulverize
• hamstring
• waste
• dint
• mangle
• annihilate
• clobber
• desolate
• crush
• lame
• total
• raze
• queer
• bash
• scourge
• bang up
• dash
• do in

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• repair
• rebuild
• fix
• help
• patch
• reconstruct
• mend
• renovate
• heal
• revamp
• cure
• remedy
• rectify
• rehabilitate
• revise
• improve
• recondition
• better
• doctor
• perfect
• edit
• enhance
• remodel
• enrich
• refine
• ameliorate
• meliorate

10

as in to die

to stop functioning

after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• die
• fail
• crash
• stall
• cut out
• give out
• break down
• sputter
• fizzle
• conk (out)
• jam
• wheeze
• act up
• malfunction

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• start (up)

11

as in to retreat

to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening

the herd of gazelles broke when they saw the lions racing toward them from the ridge above

Synonyms & Similar Words

• retreat
• flee
• fly
• escape
• run
• bolt
• run away
• run off
• beat a retreat
• beat it
• hightail (it)
• bug out
• turn tail
• skedaddle
• make tracks
• get out
• get (away)
• skip (out)
• clear out
• scram
• abscond
• make off
• decamp
• light out
• elope
• scat
• lam
• scarper
• skirr
• mizzle

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• confront
• dare
• face
• defy
• beard
• stay
• remain
• brave
• dwell
• linger
• abide
• hang around
• stick around
• tarry

12

as in to wear

to use up all the physical energy of

the trek up the mountain just about broke me

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wear
• kill
• exhaust
• tire
• drain
• weary
• wear out
• harass
• burn out
• bust
• knock out
• fatigue
• wash out
• waste
• tucker (out)
• fag
• weaken
• outwear
• wear to a frazzle
• debilitate
• frazzle
• sap
• do in
• enfeeble
• enervate
• do up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strengthen
• activate
• energize
• rest
• relax
• rejuvenate
• unwind
• invigorate
• vitalize

13

as in to circulate

to become known

as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country

Synonyms & Similar Words

• circulate
• spread
• get out
• out
• come out
• get round
• get around
• get about
• reveal
• leak (out)
• unfold
• tell
• develop
• disclose
• spill
• transpire

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• suppress
• hide
• conceal
• disguise
• mask
• hush (up)
• secrete

14

as in to ruin

to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts

another bad investment could break him

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ruin
• bankrupt
• reduce
• bust
• wipe out
• impoverish
• clean (out)
• pauperize
• beggar
• straiten

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• enrich
• richen

15

as in to begin

to come into existence

the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking

Synonyms & Similar Words

• begin
• start
• originate
• commence
• arise
• be
• set in
• appear
• emerge
• form
• arrive
• spring
• live
• dawn
• exist
• last
• materialize
• engender
• breathe
• actualize
• continue
• survive
• come on
• subsist
• persist
• endure
• shape (up)
• coalesce
• cohere

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stop
• end
• cease
• finish
• conclude
• terminate
• halt
• quit
• disappear
• discontinue
• dissolve
• die
• vanish
• depart
• expire
• evaporate
• perish
• desist
• pass away

16

as in to veer

to depart abruptly from a straight line or course

the running back broke to his left before running out of bounds

Synonyms & Similar Words

• veer
• cut
• curve
• turn
• bow
• circle
• wander
• swerve
• sheer
• zag
• sweep
• zig
• yaw
• bend
• curl
• weave
• round
• arch
• skew
• arc
• loop
• pivot
• slew
• twist
• spiral
• hook
• deviate
• wind
• wheel
• crook
• slue
• coil
• stray
• zigzag
• waver
• about-face

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• straighten

17

as in to depress

to diminish the price or value of

distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks

Synonyms & Similar Words

• reduce
• depress
• write down
• attenuate
• sink
• devalue
• shrink
• write off
• lower
• devaluate
• downgrade
• mark down
• depreciate
• cheapen
• debase
• compress
• underestimate
• moderate
• demonetize
• downsize
• contract
• undervalue
• lessen
• abridge
• dwindle
• underrate
• deflate
• underprice
• de-escalate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• enhance
• appreciate
• upgrade
• blow up
• mark up
• inflate
• add
• increase
• extend
• expand
• raise
• maximize
• boost
• swell
• augment
• multiply
• overestimate
• escalate
• enlarge
• amplify
• heighten
• bloat
• compound
• up
• dilate
• overrate
• overvalue
• aggrandize
• overprice
• balloon

18

as in to exceed

to go beyond the limit of

a menu with prices that is likely to break the budgets of all but the wealthiest of diners

Synonyms & Similar Words

• exceed
• surpass
• transcend
• outrun
• invade
• overstep
• overshoot
• outreach
• overrun
• overreach
• encroach
• trespass
• entrench
• infringe
• intrench
• overdo
• overuse
• overpass
• overwork
• overutilize

19

as in to surface

to penetrate the surface (as of water) from below

dolphins were breaking all around the boat

Synonyms & Similar Words

• surface
• emerge
• rise
• broach

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• drop
• sink
• plunge
• dive
• drown
• founder
• submerge
• submerse

break

2 of 3

noun

1

as in pause

a momentary halt in an activity

there was a brief break after the first movement as the doors to the concert hall were opened and the latecomers were allowed in

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pause
• lull
• breath
• interruption
• rest
• breather
• recess
• interval
• time-out
• stopping
• finishing
• suspension
• interlude
• respite
• interim
• intermission
• stoppage
• downtime
• cessation
• discontinuance
• ending
• lapse
• hitch
• termination
• moratorium
• expiration
• hiatus
• abeyance
• gap
• discontinuity
• surcease

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• progress
• continuation
• endurance
• progression
• persistence
• extension
• prolongation

2

as in vacation

a period during which the usual routine of school or work is suspended

most of the students at the boarding school are going home for Christmas break

Synonyms & Similar Words

• vacation
• holiday
• leave
• recess
• hols
• rest
• sabbatical
• breather
• relaxation
• respite
• liberty
• furlough
• interim
• interval
• intermission
• legal holiday
• loafing
• feast
• idling
• slacking
• holy day
• lounging

3

as in gap

an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge)

the rancher repaired the break in the fence where the horse had gotten through

Synonyms & Similar Words

• gap
• hole
• crack
• opening
• crevice
• breach
• interval
• rent
• rift
• hiatus
• void
• discontinuity
• fissure
• separation
• split
• slit
• gulf
• slot
• interstice
• fracture
• cleft
• notch
• cavity
• rupture
• pore
• aperture
• chasm
• cranny
• abyss
• orifice
• chink
• severance
• gape
• interspace
• sundering

4

as in opportunity

a favorable combination of circumstances, time, and place

in classic fashion, her big break came when, as an understudy, she took over for an ailing star

Synonyms & Similar Words

• opportunity
• chance
• room
• opening
• shot
• occasion
• way
• play
• pass
• juncture

5

as in accident

an unexpected benefit or advantage resulting from the uncertain course of events

a guy who just seems to get all the breaks in life

Synonyms & Similar Words

• accident
• chance
• strike
• fluke
• luck
• stroke of luck
• hazard
• circumstance
• happenstance
• happenchance
• hap

6

as in escape

the act or an instance of getting free from danger or confinement

a desperate break from that hellhole

Synonyms & Similar Words

• escape
• flight
• getaway
• breakout
• rout
• slip
• rescue
• lam
• bunk
• liberation
• release
• salvation
• redemption
• close call
• jailbreak
• deliverance
• close shave
• near miss

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• confinement
• imprisonment
• captivity
• incarceration
• holding
• hold
• retention
• custody
• risk
• detention
• trouble
• internment
• immurement
• hazard
• jeopardy
• peril
• imperilment
• endangerment

breaking

3 of 3

verb (2)

present participle of break

1

as in disrupting

to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly

hated telling her that I had broken her favorite glass vase

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disrupting
• fracturing
• shattering
• fragmenting
• disintegrating
• destroying
• splitting
• reducing
• ruining
• smashing
• busting
• dismembering
• riving
• wrecking
• crushing
• blasting
• breaking up
• cracking
• pulverizing
• exploding
• bursting
• chipping
• grinding
• detonating
• popping
• splintering
• powdering
• atomizing
• shivering
• blowing up
• slivering
• imploding

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• repairing
• fixing
• rebuilding
• healing
• reconstructing
• patching
• renovating
• mending
• reconditioning
• doctoring

2

as in stopping

to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end

the final vote broke the deadlock

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stopping
• ending
• ceasing
• halting
• quitting
• delaying
• suspending
• dropping
• finishing
• discontinuing
• cutting off
• breaking off
• laying off
• concluding
• shutting off
• checking
• cutting out
• leaving off
• packing (up or in)
• giving over
• knocking off
• breaking up
• completing
• canning
• blocking
• desisting (from)
• having done with
• impeding
• ruining
• putting the kibosh on
• holding
• pausing
• obstructing
• hindering
• closing (down)
• stemming
• staying
• destroying
• suppressing
• detaining
• dissolving
• deactivating
• squashing
• blockading
• scuttling
• holding back
• abolishing
• aborting
• arresting
• braking
• stamping
• squelching
• killing
• demolishing
• damming
• turning back
• calling
• stunting
• snuffing
• annulling
• clamping down
• reining (in)
• staunching
• stanching
• kiboshing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• continuing
• carrying on
• running on
• advancing
• keeping up
• proceeding
• progressing
• driving
• stirring
• following through (with)
• propelling
• actuating
• impelling

3

as in reducing

to bring to a lower grade or rank

the captain was broken to lieutenant commander for disobeying a direct order from his group commander

Synonyms & Similar Words

• reducing
• demoting
• degrading
• downgrading
• dismissing
• busting
• sacking
• disrating
• laying off
• downsizing
• firing
• humiliating
• canning
• debasing
• lowering
• humbling
• abasing
• cashiering
• demeaning

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• raising
• promoting
• advancing
• elevating
• hiring

4

as in deciphering

to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language

Alan Turing and the Bletchley Park mathematicians broke the Enigma code being used by the Nazis

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deciphering
• cracking
• decoding
• decrypting
• translating
• solving
• rendering
• unraveling
• figuring out
• working
• working out
• doping (out)
• descrambling
• puzzling (out)
• unscrambling
• unriddling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• coding
• encoding
• encrypting
• ciphering
• mixing (up)
• enciphering
• garbling
• jumbling (up)

5

as in pausing

to come to a temporary halt in one's activity

she broke from her ruminations to find that it was already dinnertime

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pausing
• hesitating
• interrupting
• holding one's horses
• stopping
• catching one's breath
• finishing
• ending
• breaking in
• ceasing
• terminating
• discontinuing
• lapsing
• laying off
• knocking off
• quitting
• letting up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• continuing
• advancing
• progressing
• extending
• persisting
• stretching
• prolonging

6

as in plowing

to cut into and turn over the sod of (a piece of land) using a bladed implement

farmers once broke fields with horse-drawn plows

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plowing
• raking
• furrowing
• cultivating
• tilling
• fallowing
• harrowing
• hoeing
• rototilling
• listing

7

as in violating

to fail to keep

had to confess that he had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone

Synonyms & Similar Words

• violating
• breaching
• transgressing
• contravening
• fracturing
• offending
• infringing (on or upon)
• ignoring
• disobeying
• traducing
• rebelling
• disregarding
• flouting
• resisting
• neglecting
• dismissing
• brushing (off)
• withstanding
• passing over
• blowing off
• defying
• scorning
• winking (at)
• tuning out
• slighting
• overlooking
• poohing
• shrugging off
• overpassing
• pooh-poohing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• following
• observing
• conforming (to)
• complying (with)
• obeying
• serving
• submitting (to)
• yielding (to)
• regarding
• hearing
• marking
• watching
• attending
• minding
• listening (to)
• noticing
• noting
• surrendering (to)
• deferring (to)
• heeding

8

as in solving

to find an answer for through reasoning

Professor Bates broke the problem when she realized that it was possible to synthesize the necessary compounds

Synonyms & Similar Words

• solving
• unraveling
• answering
• resolving
• cracking
• figuring out
• deciphering
• working
• working out
• doping (out)
• puzzling (out)
• riddling (out)
• unriddling
• deducing
• deciding
• concluding
• reasoning
• inferring
• judging
• gathering
• guessing
• untying
• straightening (out)
• clearing (up)
• untangling
• speculating
• ironing out
• divining
• presuming
• untieing
• assuming
• decoding
• conjecturing
• unscrambling

9

as in damaging

to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of

I broke a tooth on the hard candy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• damaging
• marring
• injuring
• compromising
• weakening
• crippling
• hurting
• eroding
• impairing
• harming
• spoiling
• destroying
• crossing (up)
• undermining
• defacing
• disfiguring
• shattering
• ruining
• bloodying
• vitiating
• crabbing
• flawing
• deteriorating
• battering
• blemishing
• endamaging
• wounding
• wearing (away)
• wrecking
• scouring
• tarnishing
• demolishing
• smashing
• denting
• enfeebling
• enervating
• blighting
• torturing
• botching
• disabling
• mangling
• mutilating
• lacerating
• washing out
• devastating
• tormenting
• totalling
• hamstringing
• pulverizing
• wiping out
• maiming
• decimating
• wasting
• crushing
• gumming (up)
• dinging
• annihilating
• clobbering
• dinting
• razing
• bashing
• tearing down
• totaling
• laming
• queering
• scourging
• dashing
• doing in
• desolating
• banging up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• repairing
• fixing
• rebuilding
• reconstructing
• patching
• helping
• revamping
• renovating
• mending
• healing
• curing
• reconditioning
• remedying
• rehabilitating
• rectifying
• improving
• revising
• doctoring
• remodeling
• editing
• enhancing
• refining
• perfecting
• bettering
• enriching
• ameliorating
• meliorating

10

as in dying

to stop functioning

after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dying
• crashing
• failing
• stalling
• cutting out
• giving out
• breaking down
• sputtering
• wheezing
• malfunctioning
• conking (out)
• jamming
• fizzling
• acting up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• starting (up)

11

as in retreating

to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening

the herd of gazelles broke when they saw the lions racing toward them from the ridge above

Synonyms & Similar Words

• retreating
• fleeing
• flying
• bolting
• escaping
• running
• running away
• running off
• beating a retreat
• skedaddling
• bugging out
• beating it
• turning tail
• hightailing (it)
• making tracks
• getting (away)
• getting out
• scramming
• absconding
• skipping (out)
• making off
• eloping
• decamping
• clearing out
• lamming
• lighting out
• scarpering
• mizzling
• scatting
• skirring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• confronting
• facing
• defying
• daring
• braving
• remaining
• staying
• lingering
• hanging around
• abiding
• dwelling
• bearding
• sticking around
• tarrying

12

as in wearing

to use up all the physical energy of

the trek up the mountain just about broke me

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wearing
• killing
• exhausting
• tiring
• draining
• busting
• harassing
• burning out
• knocking out
• wearing out
• wearying
• wasting
• fatiguing
• fagging
• weakening
• washing out
• outwearing
• doing up
• tuckering (out)
• sapping
• doing in
• wearing to a frazzle
• debilitating
• frazzling
• enfeebling
• enervating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strengthening
• activating
• energizing
• invigorating
• resting
• rejuvenating
• relaxing
• vitalizing
• unwinding

13

as in spreading

to become known

as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country

Synonyms & Similar Words

• spreading
• circulating
• leaking (out)
• coming out
• getting out
• unfolding
• revealing
• outing
• getting about
• disclosing
• getting around
• getting round
• telling
• spilling
• developing
• transpiring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• suppressing
• hiding
• concealing
• masking
• disguising
• hushing (up)
• secreting

14

as in bankrupting

to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts

another bad investment could break him

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bankrupting
• ruining
• busting
• reducing
• impoverishing
• beggaring
• wiping out
• pauperizing
• cleaning (out)
• straitening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• enriching
• richening

15

as in originating

to come into existence

the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking

Synonyms & Similar Words

• originating
• beginning
• starting
• commencing
• being
• arising
• appearing
• forming
• emerging
• springing
• existing
• arriving
• living
• dawning
• actualizing
• engendering
• setting in
• lasting
• breathing
• materializing
• continuing
• surviving
• coming on
• subsisting
• persisting
• shaping (up)
• enduring
• coalescing
• cohering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ending
• stopping
• finishing
• ceasing
• terminating
• halting
• concluding
• discontinuing
• dissolving
• disappearing
• quitting
• vanishing
• dying
• evaporating
• departing
• desisting
• expiring
• perishing
• passing away

16

as in veering

to depart abruptly from a straight line or course

the running back broke to his left before running out of bounds

Synonyms & Similar Words

• veering
• cutting
• bowing
• curving
• circling
• turning
• wandering
• swerving
• yawing
• sweeping
• arching
• sheering
• bending
• curling
• weaving
• zagging
• twisting
• zigging
• rounding
• skewing
• pivoting
• arcing
• spiraling
• winding
• looping
• slewing
• spiralling
• hooking
• coiling
• deviating
• sluing
• straying
• zigzagging
• wheeling
• crooking
• wavering
• about-facing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• straightening

17

as in lowering

to diminish the price or value of

distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks

Synonyms & Similar Words

• reducing
• lowering
• devaluing
• sinking
• shrinking
• depressing
• downgrading
• attenuating
• devaluating
• cheapening
• depreciating
• writing down
• writing off
• marking down
• debasing
• compressing
• demonetizing
• underestimating
• undervaluing
• moderating
• contracting
• abridging
• lessening
• downsizing
• underrating
• dwindling
• underpricing
• deflating
• de-escalating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• enhancing
• upgrading
• appreciating
• marking up
• inflating
• increasing
• adding
• extending
• blowing up
• bloating
• expanding
• raising
• multiplying
• swelling
• augmenting
• escalating
• enlarging
• maximizing
• overestimating
• boosting
• amplifying
• heightening
• compounding
• dilating
• overvaluing
• upping
• overrating
• overpricing
• ballooning
• aggrandizing

18

as in exceeding

to go beyond the limit of

a menu with prices that is likely to break the budgets of all but the wealthiest of diners

Synonyms & Similar Words

• exceeding
• surpassing
• transcending
• outrunning
• overstepping
• overshooting
• outreaching
• invading
• overreaching
• overrunning
• encroaching
• trespassing
• entrenching
• intrenching
• overdoing
• infringing
• overpassing
• overusing
• overworking
• overutilizing

19

as in surfacing

to penetrate the surface (as of water) from below

dolphins were breaking all around the boat

Synonyms & Similar Words

• surfacing
• emerging
• rising
• broaching

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dropping
• sinking
• plunging
• drowning
• diving
• submerging
• foundering
• submersing

Phrases Containing break

• break bread
• break down
• break free
• break in
• break off
• break off (with)
• break out
• break out (of)
• break the law
• break up