breakdown

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. collapse, failure; [nervous] prostration, crack-up. See insanity.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A failure to work or function properly]

Syn. stoppage, collapse, malfunction, disruption; see failure 1 , wreck 1 .

2. [A failure of mental or physical health]

Syn. collapse, nervous breakdown, decline, crackup*; see decay 1 .

3. [A separation into parts]

Syn. analysis, categorization, itemization; see division 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

1. failure malfunction, collapse, short circuit, disruption, mishap.

2. itemization analysis, list, categorization.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun 1. A cessation of proper mechanical functions: failure, outage. See THRIVE. 2. An abrupt disastrous failure: collapse, crash, debacle, smash, smashup, wreck. See MONEY. 3. A sudden sharp decline in mental, emotional, or physical health: collapse. Informal: crackup. See EXPLOSION. 4. The separation of a whole into its parts for study: analysis, anatomy, dissection. See ASSEMBLE, INVESTIGATE. 5. The condition of being decayed: decay, decomposition, deterioration, disintegration, putrefaction, putrescence, putridness, rot, rottenness, spoilage. See BETTER, THRIVE.