Synonyms of broke
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as in poor
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as in disrupted
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as in ended
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as in demoted
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as in deciphered
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as in paused
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as in plowed
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as in violated
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as in solved
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as in damaged
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as in died
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as in retreated
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as in wore
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as in circulated
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as in ruined
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as in began
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as in veered
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as in reduced
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as in exceeded
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as in surfaced
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Example Sentences
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Entries Near
as in poor
lacking money or material possessions
too broke to afford even a used car
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in disrupted
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly
hated telling her that I had broken her favorite glass vase
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2
as in ended
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
the final vote broke the deadlock
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3
as in demoted
to bring to a lower grade or rank
the captain was broken to lieutenant commander for disobeying a direct order from his group commander
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4
as in deciphered
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in paused
to come to a temporary halt in one's activity
she broke from her ruminations to find that it was already dinnertime
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6
as in plowed
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
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7
as in violated
to fail to keep
had to confess that he had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
8
as in solved
to find an answer for through reasoning
Professor Bates broke the problem when she realized that it was possible to synthesize the necessary compounds
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9
as in damaged
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
I broke a tooth on the hard candy
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10
as in died
to stop functioning
after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day
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11
as in retreated
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
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12
as in wore
to use up all the physical energy of
the trek up the mountain just about broke me
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13
as in circulated
to become known
as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country
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14
as in ruined
to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts
another bad investment could break him
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15
as in began
to come into existence
the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking
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16
as in veered
to depart abruptly from a straight line or course
the running back broke to his left before running out of bounds
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17
as in reduced
to diminish the price or value of
distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks
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18
as in exceeded
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of broke
Malina Saval, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
On Monday, Pat Riley essentially said what’s broke should be fixed.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2026
Scott Huver, Deadline, 30 May 2026
On Friday, news broke that the team had fired Hudson.
—Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for broke
Adjective
The two share an inquisitive and child-like energy, turning heavy conversations about growing up broke, the solitude of incarceration, and desperate cries for attention, into something remarkably light.
—Malina Saval, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
On Monday, Pat Riley essentially said what’s broke should be fixed.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2026
Verb
So Lilith broke a lot of talent too, or if not broke talent, gave talent their first opportunity to perform in front of a live audience.
—Scott Huver, Deadline, 30 May 2026
On Friday, news broke that the team had fired Hudson.
—Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for broke
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broke
Adjective
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Common travel regrets stem from preventable issues like poor planning, budget problems, and choosing the wrong companions.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
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O’Farrell’s inclination for narratives propelled by brutal coincidence and fatally poor timing tenders a Hardy-esque vision of the world, one that emphasizes the rigid, often cruel limits of an individual’s jurisdiction over the course of their life.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Fragmented sleep, irregular sleep timing, and disrupted circadian rhythms can all negatively affect your health.—
Brian Mastroianni,
Health,
2 June 2026
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Spurs deserve credit for acting swiftly and learning their lessons from last summer when the uncertainty over the future of then head coach Ange Postecoglou disrupted their plans and contributed to them missing out on key targets.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Verb
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The superintendent of the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District said that a shooting took place after the graduation ceremonies had ended.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
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The SoCal Indie Bestsellers List for the sales week ended May 31 is based on reporting from the independent booksellers of Southern California, the California Independent Booksellers Alliance and IndieBound.—
Staff report,
Daily News,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Royce Lewis’ production at the plate since being demoted to Triple-A for a reset has drawn all kinds of attention.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
3 June 2026
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After Juventus were demoted to Serie B in 2006 following the Calciopoli scandal, Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Alessandro Del Piero, Pavel Nedved and David Trezeguet stayed.—
Roshane Thomas,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Verb
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As a preface, the conclusion here, deciphered from the scene by this author, was a plea for Giannis Antetokounmpo.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
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By slow degrees, Philip’s story shifts to accommodate the incontrovertible evidence of IP addresses and deciphered cryptography and Lucy struggles to keep up, let alone understand.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Adults with cognitive decline took longer to start writing, paused more frequently and struggled with stroke organization, the study found.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
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Service was paused, so passengers could be offloaded while authorities worked to clear the tracks.—
Maveah Griffith,
Charlotte Observer,
1 June 2026
Verb
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The community is in shock after a driver plowed his car into some businesses in the Castro District early Sunday morning.—
Sooji Nam,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
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Softbank has plowed more than $30 billion into OpenAI, with its investment gains in the company totaling $45 billion in the year ended March.—
Azhar Sukri,
CNBC,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Protestant ethics, however, are not violated without the torment of guilt or the pleasure of self-destruction; never good enough, never bad enough.—
Erika Landström,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
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Patagonia alleged Pattie Gonia violated the agreement by selling merchandise, and the complaint includes email correspondence between the parties in 2025, in which the company reminded the drag queen their agreement prohibits the commercialization of the Pattie Gonia name.—
Conor Murray,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Broke.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broke. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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