🐎 Damaged spine 🚢 Sagging structure

broken-backed

6 7.7

An animal or person with a badly damaged backbone that makes moving painful

adjective
/ˈbroʊkənˌbækt/

: jorobado

The veterinarian examined the broken-backed horse to determine its condition.

Examples

He struggled to lift the broken-backed chair, as it was warped and unstable.
After the accident, she was left with a broken-backed spine that required surgery.
And I'm wasn't going to let a broken back stop me.

Synonyms

hunchbacked

vsbroken-backed

2 7.7

A person with a curved back so the shoulders bend forward

is a general damaged or deformed spine, not a specific hump

humpbacked

vsbroken-backed

Archaic

1 6.5

Has a hump on the back, often from a curved backbone

is a general damaged or deformed spine rather than this hump

swaybacked

vsbroken-backed

Specialized

1 9.5

Having a sagging spine that curves down, often in older animals

is a general damaged or deformed spine, not only a sagging curve

swayback

vsbroken-backed

Specialized

1 9.5

Having a bent, sagging back often seen in older horses

is the general term for damaged or deformed spine, not just sagging

Antonyms

normal

∞ 1.0

Usual or expected in most situations

healthy

800 1.0

In good body and mind condition without sickness or injury

How Damaged

ruined

125 3.1

broken-backed

6 7.7

deformed

41 4.6

damaged

378 1.1

intact

272 3.7

Surface Forms

broken-backed positive

Morphology

broken-backed = broken + back (transparent) = broken + back + ed

The components 'broken' + 'back(-ed)' directly yield 'having a broken back', which a typical B1 learner can deduce from knowing 'broken' and 'back'.

Etymology

Broken-backed is simply broken + back, literally a 'broken spine'. Imagine a horse with a stiff, painful back that cannot move well, so the term describes an animal or person with a seriously damaged back.