breach of promise
1
9.5
- noun
- /briːtʃ əv ˈprɒmɪs/
- Archaic
:
incumplimiento de promesa
- After ending their long engagement, she considered suing him for breach of promise.
- breach of promise to marry
Examples
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The next thing, she'll be suing you for breach of promise.
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Your breach of promise suit is right in the ash can.
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The world should sue the young for breach of promise.
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I just want you to sue him for breach of promise.
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And I want you to sue the guy for breach of promise.
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Invasion of privacy, breach of promise...
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-I'm gonna sue you for breach of promise.
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And he costs you a fortune in breach-of-promise cases.
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When was breach of promise abolished?
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You were sued for breach of promise in New York by a young lady who you met in the Fifth Avenue bus--
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'the act of failing to keep a promise' is directly compositional from 'breach' (failure to observe an agreement) + 'promise' (an assurance), so a learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning. Although the phrase has a specific historical/legal use (often referring to a promise to marry), that nuance does not block straightforward derivation, and similar constructions exist cross-linguistically.
Etymology
Breach of promise comes from old law: if someone made a promise to marry and then there was a breach, or break, of that promise, the person left could take them to court because it harmed their future and reputation. That's why the phrase means 'failing to keep a promise to marry'.