to break a promise
16
2.6
- phrasal verb
- /breɪk ə ˈprɒmɪs/
:
incumplir (una promesa)
- It's important to keep your word; if you break a promise, people will lose trust in you.
- never break a promise
- trail of broken promises
- break a promise you make
And therefore, throughout the whole day, you're going to subconsciously feel that pain gnawing away at you that you broke a promise to yourself.
- And therefore, throughout the whole day, you're going to subconsciously feel that pain gnawing away at you that you broke a promise to yourself.
Examples
-
Pam, a man cannot break a promise he's made to his kids.
-
I never break a promise.
-
Son, I never break a promise.
-
I told you, I never break a promise.
-
Well, it's just not right to break a promise.
-
And I never break a promise.
-
I never break a promise.
-
Have I ever once in my life broken a promise to you?
Fiction book (2002) -
Have I ever broken a promise to you?
Fiction book (2002) -
Remind your partner that it's better to decline a task than to break a promise.
Blog text (29)
Synonyms
627
4.4
Break a law, rule, agreement, or promise
210
2.9
Make someone feel disappointed by not doing what you promised
79
3.4
Decide not to do something you promised to do
46
4.5
To break a rule, agreement, or promise
33
4.1
Break a promise or agreement
25
8.5
To break a promise or agreement and not do what you said you would do
16
7.2
Fail to do something you promised or agreed to
5
9.5
To fail to pay a debt or keep a promise after an agreement
4
9.9
To fail to keep a promise or pay a bet
1
5.0
To not keep a serious promise you made, often in a formal situation
Fail to do something you promised, often by not paying what you owe
Antonyms
How Treacherous
- Informal
1
7.8
32
6.5
- Informal
55
6.8
397
4.2
16
2.6
210
2.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to fail to do what you have promised' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'break' (to violate or stop/interrupt) with 'promise' (an assurance). This construction mirrors common cross-linguistic usage (e.g., Spanish 'romper una promesa', French 'rompre une promesse') and follows regular English collocation patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the parts will understand it.
Etymology
Break a promise comes from a simple image: a promise is like a small thing you can break, such as a wooden stick or a pinky-swear. So when you break a promise you lose the agreement and people's trust, meaning 'to fail to do what you promised'.