🐎 Damaged spine 🚢 Sagging structure

broken-backed

9.6

A ship or structure so badly damaged that it sags in the middle

adjective
/ˈbroʊkənˌbækt/

Specialized

: deformado

After the storm, the once-proud vessel was now broken-backed and barely afloat.

Examples

The cargo ship was deemed broken-backed and required towing to the dry dock for repairs.
The old pier stood broken-backed after years of neglect and battering by the waves.
A broken-backed ship is considered beyond repair and must be taken out of service.
The old ship was broken-backed after the storm.
They found a broken-backed vessel abandoned on the shore.
After the storm, the beautiful yacht was broken-backed and unfit to sail again.
The fishing trawler, once a reliable workhorse, was found broken-backed in the harbor after the rough weather.

Synonyms

hogged

vsbroken-backed

Specialized

9.9

A ship whose front and back sag so they are lower than the middle

emphasizes damage and structural failure as the reason for sagging ends

Antonyms

well-made

17 3.6

Built carefully so it is strong and lasts

soundness

1 4.6

Being whole and in good condition

How Damaged

wrecked

4.0

broken-backed

Specialized

9.6

damaged

1 1.1

cracked

2.0

sound

58 2.3

Surface Forms

broken-backed positive

Morphology

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

Components still indicate 'having a broken back', but the nautical/structural application to ships is a specialized metaphorical extension that may not be obvious to all learners.

Etymology

Broken-backed is simply broken + back, and can mean a 'broken backbone' of a ship or structure. Picture a ship so damaged it sags in the middle while both ends rise, which is why the word describes a vessel or pier that is bent and beyond repair.