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broken
bro·ken / ˈbrōkən/ past participle of break. • adj. 1. having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order: a broken arm. ∎ rejected, defeated, or despairing: he went to his grave a broken man a broken heart. ∎ sick or weakened: broken health. ∎ (of a relationship) ended, typically by betrayal or faithlessness: a broken marriage. ∎ disrupted or divided: broken families. ∎ (of an agreement or promise) not observed by one of the parties involved. 2. having gaps or intervals that break a continuity: a broken white line across the road. ∎ having an uneven and rough surface: broken ground. ∎ (of speech or a language) spoken falteringly and with many mistakes, as by a foreigner: a young man talking in broken Italian. ∎ spoken haltingly, as if overcome by emotion: he whispered in a broken voice. DERIVATIVES: bro·ken·ly adv. bro·ken·ness n. |
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Cite this article
"broken." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "broken." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-broken.html "broken." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-broken.html |
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broken
broken. Signifies interruption of an element, such as broken arch (usually segmental with its centre filled by a carved motif), broken ashlar (random masonry laid in irregular courses), broken column (with the shaft broken off, symbolizing death, a recurring theme in commemorative art), broken pediment (see pediment), and broken rangework (masonry laid in courses but with blocks of different heights, thus breaking the horizontal joints).
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Cite this article
JAMES STEVENS CURL. "broken." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "broken." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-broken.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "broken." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-broken.html |
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BROKEN
BROKEN.
1. An informal, non-technical term for a foreigner's limited and ungrammatical use of a language: ‘The skipper asked in broken English for his help’ (Observer, 2 Sept. 1990) . 2. Also TORRES STRAIT BROKEN. The name given by its speakers to the English-based CREOLE of the Torres Strait islands between Cape York in Australia and Papua New Guinea, known technically as Torres Strait Creole. |
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Cite this article
TOM McARTHUR. "BROKEN." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. TOM McARTHUR. "BROKEN." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-BROKEN.html TOM McARTHUR. "BROKEN." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-BROKEN.html |
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broken
broken broken reed someone not to be relied on; originally often with biblical allusion to Isaiah 36:6.
See also the golden bowl is broken, rules were made to be broken at rule1. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "broken." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "broken." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-broken.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "broken." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-broken.html |
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broken
broken
•blacken, bracken, slacken
•Sri Lankan
•Alaskan, Gascon, Madagascan, Nebraskan
•Aachen, darken, hearken, kraken, Marcan, Petrarchan
•Interlaken
•beckon, Deccan, pekan, reckon
•Mencken
•awaken, bacon, betaken, forsaken, Jamaican, mistaken, partaken, shaken, taken, waken
•godforsaken
•archdeacon, beacon, Costa Rican, deacon, Dominican, Mohican, Mozambican, Puerto Rican, weaken
•quicken, sicken, stricken, thicken, Wiccan
•silken
•Incan, Lincoln
•brisken, Franciscan
•barbican • Rubicon • Gallican
•Anglican
•Helicon, pelican
•basilican, Millikan, silicon
•publican • pantechnicon • Copernican
•African • American • hurricane
•lexicon, Mexican
•Corsican • Vatican • liken
•Brocken, Moroccan
•falcon, Lorcan, Majorcan, Minorcan
•Balcon, Balkan
•gyrfalcon
•awoken, bespoken, betoken, broken, foretoken, oaken, outspoken, plain-spoken, ryokan, spoken, token, woken
•heartbroken
•Lucan, toucan
•Saarbrücken • Buchan • Vulcan
•drunken, Duncan, shrunken, sunken
•Etruscan, molluscan (US molluskan), Tuscan
•Ardnamurchan • lochan
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Cite this article
"broken." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "broken." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-broken.html "broken." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-broken.html |
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