BREAK UP Synonyms: 314 Similar and Opposite Words

break up 1 of 2

verb

as in to disband

to cease to exist or cause to cease to exist as a group or organization the band broke up when their arguments over money grew too stressful

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as in to stop

to come to an end the meeting broke up when all the business for the day had been completed

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as in to divide

to set or force apart he broke up the rocks in the old stone wall with a crowbar, sending them tumbling to the ground

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as in to crack

to yield to mental or emotional stress the sort of person who would be among the first to break up in a prisoner of war camp

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as in to cease

to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end police arrived at the scene and immediately broke up the fracas

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as in to disrupt

to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly break up the feta cheese and spread it over the salad

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as in to laugh

to show mirth with an explosive vocal sound if you break up during the skit, the audience will know that you're in on the joke

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breakup

2 of 2

noun

ˈbrāk-ˌəp

as in split

the act or process of a whole separating into two or more parts or pieces the breakup of the Soviet Union and the collapse of communism pretty much signaled the end of the Cold War

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of break up

Verb

The hotel’s halls are dark and dimly lit — black walls broken up by black doors, room numbers embossed in gold. —

Federico Fahsbender, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2025 Nash said the election broke up the DFL hold on the Legislature, and GOP lawmakers are taking that as a cue to reassess changes implemented over the last two years. —

Dana Ferguson, Twin Cities, 10 Feb. 2025

Noun

The only film on this list that takes place on Valentine’s Day, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind follows Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet), two former lovers who undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories after a painful breakup. —

Janey Tracey, EW.com, 7 Feb. 2025 Desiree, played by Laverne Cox, has returned home to Mobile, Alabama, after a bad breakup, hoping to reunite with her estranged father, Harry (George Wallace). —

Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 6 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for break up

Recent Examples of Synonyms for break up

Verb

Disband the committee altogether Could the administration disband the committee?

— Pien Huang, NPR, 15 Feb. 2025
Destiny’s Child may have disbanded in 2006, but the members are always just one text away.

— Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 11 Feb. 2025