BREAKING-UP Synonyms: 271 Similar and Opposite Words

breaking up

verb

present participle of break up

as in disbanding

to cease to exist or cause to cease to exist as a group or organization the band broke up when their arguments over money grew too stressful

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as in ending

to come to an end the meeting broke up when all the business for the day had been completed

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as in dividing

to set or force apart he broke up the rocks in the old stone wall with a crowbar, sending them tumbling to the ground

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as in losing it

to yield to mental or emotional stress the sort of person who would be among the first to break up in a prisoner of war camp

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as in stopping

to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end police arrived at the scene and immediately broke up the fracas

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as in disrupting

to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly break up the feta cheese and spread it over the salad

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as in laughing

to show mirth with an explosive vocal sound if you break up during the skit, the audience will know that you're in on the joke

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Example Sentences

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 breaking up As the party was breaking up, officers reported hearing multiple gunshots near the home. —

Andrea Lucia, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026 The pair make several successful films before breaking up, both romantically and professionally. —

Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 16 Mar. 2026 Like a rebellious band member or an unruly lover, Takahiro Miyashita has a talent for breaking up and making up. —

Ashley Ogawa Clarke, Vogue, 9 Mar. 2026 The room begins to feel fragmented, with too many edges breaking up the sightline. —

Angelika Pokovba, Martha Stewart, 3 Mar. 2026 Meanwhile, in the early 1900s, people feared broadcast radio would wrinkle their skin, dry up the sky, and even cause flooding by breaking up clouds. —

Tim Brinkhof, Big Think, 3 Mar. 2026 But the bigger fiction was that this case could or should result in a court order breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster. —

Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 23 Feb. 2026 He’s best known for breaking up that colossus, which is spurring speculation that PayPal’s board intends to sell off segments of the firm’s business. —

Bloomberg, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026 Inhaling the steam from and consuming a hot beverage (like water) can help with nasal congestion by breaking up mucus and unclogging the sinuses. —

Cristina Mutchler, Verywell Health, 9 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking up

Verb

The group released seven studio albums between 1985 and 2011 before disbanding in 2014 after Spinks died of liver cancer, followed by Lewis’ death in 2020.

— Annie Harrigan, Billboard, 11 Mar. 2026
Over the past year, the Justice Department has been in turmoil, with new leaders essentially gutting the public integrity and tax units and disbanding a task force designed to fight international corruption.

— Carrie Johnson, NPR, 5 Mar. 2026