break

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. interruption, disconnection; breach, fracture, fissure, crack; pause; boon, advantage. — v. crack, fracture, shatter; tame, subdue; change; train; surpass; violate, infringe. See brittleness, domestication, discontinuance, destruction.Ant., mend, repair.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [The act of breaking]

Syn. fracture, rift, split, schism, cleavage, dissevering, riving, breach, rupture, eruption, bursting, failure, collapse, disjunction; see also division 1 , fracture 1 , parting 2 .

Ant. mending, repair*, maintenance.

2. [The effect of breaking]

Syn. crack, split, tear, separation; see fracture 2 , 3 , hole 1 .

3. [A pause]

Syn. intermission, interim, lapse, rest; see pause 1 , recess 1 .

4. [Quarrel and separation]

Syn. rift, difference, difference of opinion, altercation, parting of the ways; see also sense 1, disagreement 1 , dispute .

5. [Fortunate change or event: often plural ]

Syn. good luck, accident, favorable circumstances, opportunity; see luck 1 .

v.

1. [To start a rupture]

Syn. crack, burst, split, rend, rupture, sunder, sever, fracture, tear, cleave, rive, break into, break through, force open, puncture, pierce, breach, snap, slash, gash, dissect, slice, detach, divide, separate, disjoin, bust*; see also cut 1 , 2 , divide 1 .

2. [To shatter]

Syn. smash, shatter, crash, break up, crush, break to atoms, shiver, splinter, smash to flinders, pull to pieces, break all to pieces, fragment, fragmentize, crumble, bust up*, break all to smithereens*.

3. [To fall apart]

Syn. disintegrate, fall apart, shiver, burst, shatter, fall to pieces, splinter, crumble, collapse, break down, come apart, come off, get loose, fall off, fall down, cave in, give way, dilapidate, go to wrack and ruin, get wrecked, break into flinders, split, be destroyed, get busted*, fold up*, come unstuck*, come unglued*, come apart at the seams*; see also break down 3 , disintegrate 1 .

4. [To bring to ruin or to an end]

Syn. demolish, annihilate, eradicate, crush; see destroy 1 .

5. [To violate]

Syn. infringe, fail to observe, contravene; see transgress , violate 1 .

6. [To interrupt]

Syn. disrupt, discontinue, suspend, recess; see interrupt 2 , suspend 2 .

7. [To make known]

Syn. disclose, tell, divulge; see reveal 1 .

8. [To make tractable or spiritless]

Syn. subdue, tame, wear down; see defeat 1 , teach 2 .

9. [To happen]

Syn. come to pass, come into being, occur, develop; see happen 2 .

Syn.- break , the most general of these terms, expresses their basic idea of separating into pieces as a result of impact, stress, etc.; smash and crash add connotations of suddenness, violence, and noise; crush suggests a crumpling or pulverizing pressure; shatter , sudden fragmentation and a scattering of pieces; crack , incomplete separation of parts or a sharp, snapping noise in breaking; split , separation lengthwise, as along the direction of the grain or layers; fracture , the breaking of a hard or rigid substance, as bone or rock; splinter , the splitting of wood, bone, etc. into long, thin, sharp pieces: all of these terms are used figuratively to imply Great force or damage [ to break one's heart, smash one's hopes, crush the opposition, shatter one's nerves, etc. ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. fracture crack, rupture, tear, split, fissure, collapse, rift, breach, rent.

2. pause recess, breather, intermission, lull, letup, rest, hiatus, respite. good fortune opportunity, shot, opening, stroke of luck, chance.

II

v.

1. fracture crack, rupture, tear, split, shatter, collapse, breach, fall apart, bust, burst, snap, pop, smash, pulverize, splinter, demolish, total, disintegrate, mangle.

2. weaken impair, undermine, diminish, degrade, incapacitate, cripple.

3. pause rest, recess, take a breather, suspend, stop.

ANT.: 1. repair, mend, fix. 2. strengthen, fortify. 3. resume, begin

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To crack or split into two or more fragments by means of or as a result of force, a blow, or strain: fracture, rift, rive, shatter, shiver2, smash, splinter, sunder. See HELP. 2. To become or cause to become apart one from another: detach, disjoin, disjoint, disunite, divide, divorce, part, separate, split (up). Idioms: part company, set at odds. See ASSEMBLE. 3. To make a hole or other opening in. Also used with through: breach, gap, hole, perforate, pierce, puncture. See OPEN. 4. To pass into or through by overcoming resistance. Also used with through: enter, penetrate, perforate, pierce, puncture. See ENTER. 5. To find the key to (a code, for example): crack, decipher, decrypt, puzzle out. See KNOWLEDGE. 6. To make known: carry, communicate, convey, disclose, get across, impart, pass, report, tell, transmit. See KNOWLEDGE. 7. To be made public: come out, get out, out, transpire. Informal: leak (out). Idiom: come to light. See KNOWLEDGE, SHOW. 8. To make or become unusable or inoperative: fail, ruin. Slang: bust. See HELP. 9. To impair severely something such as the spirit, health, or effectiveness of: crush, destroy, overwhelm, ruin. See HELP. 10. To give way mentally and emotionally. Also used with down: collapse, crack, snap. Informal: crack up, fold. See EXPLOSION. 11. To suddenly lose all health or strength. Also used with down: cave in, collapse, crack, drop, give out, succumb. Informal: crack up. Slang: conk out. Idiom: give way. See HEALTH. 12. To reduce to financial insolvency: bankrupt, bust, impoverish, pauperize, ruin. Slang: clean out. See MONEY. 13. To undergo sudden financial failure: bust, collapse, crash, fail, go under. Informal: fold. Idioms: go belly up, go bust, go on the rocks, go to the wall. See MONEY. 14. To lower in rank or grade: bump, degrade, demote, downgrade, reduce. Slang: bust. See RISE. 15. To fail to fulfill (a promise) or conform to (a regulation): breach, contravene, infringe, transgress, violate. See DO. 16. To refuse or fail to obey: defy, disobey, flout, transgress, violate. Idiom: pay no attention to. See RESIST. 17. To desist from, cease, or discontinue (a habit, for example): cut out, give up, leave off, stop. Slang: kick. See CONTINUE. 18. To interrupt regular activity for a short period: recess. Idioms: take a break, take a breather, take five (or ten). See CONTINUE. 19. To make (an animal) docile: bust, gentle, master, tame. See WILD. II noun 1. An opening, especially in a solid structure: breach, gap, hole, perforation, rupture. See OPEN. 2. A usually narrow partial opening caused by splitting and rupture: chink, cleavage, cleft, crack, crevice, fissure, rift, split. See OPEN. 3. The act or an instance of escaping, as from confinement or difficulty: breakout, decampment, escape, escapement, flight, getaway. Slang: lam. See FREE. 4. A cessation of continuity or regularity: discontinuance, discontinuation, discontinuity, disruption, interruption, pause, suspension. See CONTINUE. 5. An interval during which continuity is suspended: gap, hiatus, interim, lacuna, void. See CONTINUE. 6. A pause or interval, as from work or duty: intermission, recess, respite, rest1, time-out. Informal: breather. See CONTINUE. 7. A favorable or advantageous combination of circumstances: chance, occasion, opening, opportunity. Informal: shot. See LUCK. 8. An interruption in friendly relations: alienation, breach, disaffection, estrangement, fissure, rent2, rift, rupture, schism, split. See ASSEMBLE, HELP.