Synonyms for break
noun
The act of breaking
fracture, rift, split, schism, cleavage, dissevering, riving, breach, rupture, eruption, bursting, failure, collapse, disjunction; see also division 1, fracture 1, parting 2.The effect of breaking
A pause
Quarrel and separation
rift, difference, difference of opinion, altercation, parting of the ways; see also sense 1, disagreement 1, dispute.Fortunate change or event: often plural
good luck, accident, favorable circumstances, opportunity; see luck 1.
verb
To start a rupture
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.To shatter
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*. To fall apart
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.To bring to ruin or to an end
demolish, annihilate, eradicate, crush; see destroy 1.To violate
infringe, fail to observe, contravene; see transgress, violate 1.To interrupt
disrupt, discontinue, suspend, recess; see interrupt 2, suspend 2.To make known
To make tractable or spiritless
To happen
come to pass, come into being, occur, develop; see happen 2.
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.
See break in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Synonyms
See break in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II
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