interrupted

[in-tuh-ruhp-tid]

adjective

1. broken off or discontinuous.

   Even one night of interrupted sleep can affect your mood.

2. Botany.,  having an irregular or discontinuous arrangement, as of leaflets along a stem.

Other Word Forms

• noninterrupted adjective
• noninterruptedly adverb
• noninterruptedness noun
• uninterrupted adjective
• uninterruptedly adverb
• uninterruptedness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of interrupted¹

First recorded in 1550–60; interrupt + -ed ²

Example Sentences

Orlean, who is so carefully attentive to her responsibilities that we interrupted our interview so she could feed her parking meter, made headlines in 2020 for tweeting with no filter.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Bob Webb, 74, a chief operating officer at a Pittsburgh law firm, lives near the trail and ticked off its hills and swerves until his brother from Maryland interrupted.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

And he once interrupted a meeting to wax lyrical about the changes he had made to the White House Cabinet Room, including a long aside about the new drapes.

Read more on Barron's

Although this year’s event was more sober than in the past, according to Kaczanowski, 31, police officers interrupted their field day after noticing some competitors were visibly drinking.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But nobody planned for filming to be interrupted by the lengthy dual Hollywood strikes in 2023.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• broken 
• delayed 
• disrupted www.thesaurus.com
• postponed www.thesaurus.com