broken

Etymology

From Middle English broken, from Old English brocen, ġebrocen, from Proto-Germanic *brukanaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”). Cognate with Dutch gebroken (“broken”), German Low German broken (“broken”), German gebrochen (“broken”). Morphologically broke + -n.

verb

1. past participle of break

adj

1. Fragmented; in separate pieces.
   1. (of a bone or body part) Fractured; having the bone in pieces.
      My arm is broken!
      the ground was littered with broken bones
      One recent morning the team had to replace a broken weather research station. File:One recent morning the team had to replace a broken weather research station.ogg
   2. (of skin) Split or ruptured.
      A dog bit my leg and now the skin is broken.
   3. (of a line) Dashed; made up of short lines with small gaps between each one and the next.
   4. (of sleep) Interrupted; not continuous.
   5. (meteorology, of the sky) Five-eighths to seven-eighths obscured by clouds; incompletely covered by clouds.
      Tomorrow: broken skies.
   6. (of a melody) Having periods of silence scattered throughout; not regularly continuous.
      A cuckoo sat on a gate-post singing his broken June tune[.] 1906, Rudyard Kipling, Puck of Pook's Hill, London: Penguin Books, published 1994, page 9
2. (of a promise, etc) Breached; violated; not kept.
   broken promises of neutrality
   broken vows
   the broken covenant
3. Non-functional; not functioning properly.
   1. (of an electronic connection) Disconnected, no longer open or carrying traffic.
   2. (software, informal) Badly designed or implemented.
      This is the most broken application I've seen in a long time.
   3. (of language) Grammatically non-standard, especially as a result of being produced by a non-native speaker.
      Don't say it in Russian / Don't say it in German / Say it in broken English 1979, “Broken English”, performed by Marianne Faithfull
   4. (colloquial, US, of a situation) Not having gone in the way intended; saddening.
      Oh man! That is just broken!
4. (of a person) Completely defeated and dispirited; shattered; destroyed.
   The bankruptcy and divorce, together with the death of his son, left him completely broken.
   He said, "Son, when you grow up / Would you be the savior of the broken / The beaten, and the damned?" 2006, “Welcome to the Black Parade”, in The Black Parade, performed by My Chemical Romance
   And oh, maybe I see a part of me in them / The missing piece, always trying to fit in / The shattered heart, hungry for a home / No, you're not alone / I love the broken ones / I love the broken ones 2011, Dia Frampton (lyrics and music), “The Broken Ones”, in Red, performed by Dia Frampton
5. Having no money; bankrupt, broke.
6. (of land) Uneven.
   All that day they rode into broken land. The prairie with its grass and rolling hills was behind them, and they entered a sparse, dry, rocky country, full of draws and short cañons and ominous buttresses. 2005, Will Cook, Until Darkness Disappears, page 54
7. (sports and gaming, of a tactic or option) Overpowered; overly powerful; too powerful.