to break with
23
4.1
- phrasal verb
- /breɪk wɪð/
:
romper con
- She has broken with me.
- broke with tradition
- break with convention
- break with the past
He ends up breaking with FDR during the New Deal.
- He ends up breaking with FDR during the New Deal.
- And pretty soon they, you know, they break with him as well over the Algerian war.
- Yeah, that's how they broke with tradition.
Examples
-
We know that society evolves, we progress, we break with these archaic notions of who's fit to serve as our leaders.
-
I want you to tell her that I cannot explain... why I broke with her as I did.
-
You broke with me first, remember?
-
I just broke with my boyfriend.
-
I broke with my friend Tom Wilson this afternoon.
-
To this end, shortly after taking office, Bush broke with tradition by choosing Mexico for his first foreign visit.
Academic text (2001) -
Earlier in my political career, I was a member of the NRA, and as it became more and more radicalized, I broke with the NRA.
-
The political climate demands female candidates break with gender stereotypes to run successful campaigns and be effective legislators in office.
Academic text (2013) -
I just broke with my boyfriend after our long disagreement.
-
She decided to break with her old friends to focus on her career.
Synonyms
678
2.6
End a relationship with someone, for example a romantic or business partner
575
2.3
End a relationship or go separate ways
501
5.1
To end a romantic relationship suddenly and without care
481
2.9
To move apart or stop being together
458
4.6
To end a relationship or connection with someone
137
2.7
To end a close relationship and go separate ways
67
5.8
To end a relationship or connection completely by stopping all contact
60
4.1
To officially end an organization, agreement, or relationship
50
3.2
To stop something suddenly before it is finished, for example a talk or relationship
30
4.1
To leave an organization and form a separate group
23
3.9
To stop being together or working with someone and go in different directions
16
7.0
To end a connection with a person, group, or idea
12
9.4
Suddenly stop seeing or talking to someone
5
6.6
To stop depending on someone or something and become independent
3
6.7
To stop being involved with a person, group, or idea
1
7.5
To stop being a member of a group or organization
To suddenly end someone's job or a relationship, often without warning
To end a relationship or job suddenly and harshly
End someone's job or relationship suddenly and without warning
Antonyms
How Decisive
67
5.8
23
4.1
- Informal
5
6.6
23
3.9
17
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to end a relationship or association' is directly derivable from combining 'break' (to stop or end) with 'with' (marking the party or thing associated), so together they plainly mean 'end association with X'. This compositional pattern (break + preposition indicating what is being broken from) is common in English and across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Break with comes from the simple image of break and with: imagine snapping a rope or chain that tied a person to a group or idea. So, to break with someone or something means to 'end' that connection or relationship.