Synonyms of broke
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as in impoverished 
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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 impoverished
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
13
as in circulated
to become known
as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
17
as in reduced
to diminish the price or value of
distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Recent Examples of broke
Lia Amador, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2025
Reunion shows often have a vital, go-for-broke spirit, and this movie does too, in the sweetest possible way.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025
California broke the law and now three people are dead and two are hospitalized.
—Jasmine Baehr , Christina Shaw, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for broke
Adjective
In another magical Miami tale, a broke witch who works in a spellshop and an adjunct professor who’s secretly a popular himbo mage team up to win a spellcasting reality show competition — except someone is sabotaging the contestants’ work.
—Lia Amador, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2025
Reunion shows often have a vital, go-for-broke spirit, and this movie does too, in the sweetest possible way.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
When Stuckmann's campaign broke a record, Flanagan reached out again with congratulations, a moment that would lead him to offer notes on the edit, sound mixing, sound design, score, and other aspects of postproduction.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025
California broke the law and now three people are dead and two are hospitalized.
—Jasmine Baehr , Christina Shaw, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for broke
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broke
Adjective
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The film, which world premiered in the Berlinale’s Perspectives sidebar, follows an impoverished but determined family put to test when the father, who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, is accused of murder.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
23 Oct. 2025
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Sanctions have crippled the government’s primary source of revenue, oil exports, limiting the state’s ability to provide for millions of impoverished Iranians through social safety nets.—
Leila Gharagozlou,
CNN Money,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The reality is that all premium creative models in the moving-image space are being disrupted by low-cost ones, powered by AI, free platforms, and new forms of piracy.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
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Hurricane Melissa is expected to weaken over Jamaica as its inner core is disrupted by the mountainous terrain.—
Jennifer Borresen,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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His tenure ended after consecutive losses to his former Notre Dame defensive coordinators Clark Lea (now the Vanderbilt head coach) and Mike Elko (Texas A&M), putting him at 34-14 in Baton Rouge.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
30 Oct. 2025
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However, Megan felt no spark in person with Mike, so that ended quickly.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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He was demoted as a working royal back in 2022 by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
28 Oct. 2025
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After a 24-21 loss at Air Force, Cowboys coach Jay Sawvel demoted Jay Johnson from offensive coordinator to analyst.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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At least three independent efforts deciphered the first three Kryptos messages.—
Jack Murtagh,
Scientific American,
22 Oct. 2025
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Many of which have yet to be deciphered.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Starlink Roam’s portable dish is designed for mobility, and service can be paused seasonally, giving RVers a flexible, take-anywhere solution.—
Roxanne Downer,
USA Today,
29 Oct. 2025
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Several lawsuits and protests have arisen in response, and last month, a court order paused all activity related to the project.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Trojans have been mostly solid against the run this season (39th in yards per carry allowed before Saturday), but the Irish offense plowed through them, with Love and Price coming for 315 yards on 37 rushes.—
The Athletic College Football Staff,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
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Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, were killed when 35-year-old British citizen Jihad Al Shamie, who was born in Syria, plowed his car into pedestrians and stabbed at least one other victim.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Survivors say they were violated in sanctuaries, at pastors’ homes and in tents on camping trips.—
Mike Hixenbaugh,
NBC news,
30 Oct. 2025
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This comes after the Haas Factory Team driver's contact with Jeb Burton in Martinsville violated the sport's conduct code.—
Alex Harrington,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Broke.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broke. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
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