Covert — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Related Entry: Break (verb)

Break is a different word from Covert. The synonyms below are for break, not for covert.

1. to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly

   "hated telling her that I had broken her favorite glass vase"

   similar: break up, bust, disintegrate, dismember, disrupt, fracture, fragment, rive
   related: atomize, crush, grind, powder, pulverize, reduce, blast, blow up, burst, detonate, explode, crack, pop, shatter, shiver, smash, chip, sliver, splinter, split, implode, destroy, ruin, wreck
   near: doctor, fix, heal, mend, patch, rebuild, recondition, reconstruct, renovate, repair

2. to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end

   "the final vote broke the deadlock"

   similar: break off, break up, can (slang), cease, cut off, cut out, desist (from), discontinue, drop, end, give over, halt, knock off, lay off, leave off, pack (up or in), quit, shut off, stop, have done with, put the kibosh on
   related: complete, conclude, finish, close (down), deactivate, block, blockade, dam, delay, detain, hinder, hold, hold back, impede, kibosh, obstruct, stem, call, suspend, arrest, brake, check, clamp down, rein (in), squash, squelch, stamp, stanch, stunt, suppress, turn back, pause, stay, abolish, abort, annul, demolish, destroy, dissolve, kill, ruin, scuttle, snuff
   near: carry on, continue, follow through (with), keep up, run on, advance, proceed, progress, actuate, drive, impel, propel, stir

3. to bring to a lower grade or rank

   "the captain was broken to lieutenant commander for disobeying a direct order from his group commander"

   similar: bust, degrade, demote, disrate, downgrade, reduce
   related: can, cashier, dismiss, downsize, fire, lay off, sack, abase, debase, demean, humble, humiliate, lower
   opposite: advance, elevate, promote, raise
   near: hire

4. to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language

   "Alan Turing and the Bletchley Park mathematicians broke the Enigma code being used by the Nazis"

   similar: crack, decipher, decode, decrypt
   related: descramble, unscramble, render, translate, dope (out), figure out, puzzle (out), solve, unravel, unriddle, work, work out
   opposite: cipher, code, encipher, encode, encrypt
   near: garble, jumble (up), mix (up)

5. to come to a temporary halt in one's activity

   "she broke from her ruminations to find that it was already dinnertime"

   similar: pause, catch one's breath, hold one's horses
   related: hesitate, break in, interrupt, cease, discontinue, end, finish, stop, terminate, knock off, lay off, quit, lapse, let up
   near: continue, persist, advance, progress, extend, prolong, stretch

6. to cut into and turn over the sod of (a piece of land) using a bladed implement

   "farmers once broke fields with horse-drawn plows"

   similar: furrow, plow
   related: cultivate, till, fallow, harrow, hoe, list, rake, rototill

7. to fail to keep

   "had to confess that he had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone"

   similar: breach, contravene, fracture, infringe (on or upon), offend, traduce, transgress, violate
   related: disobey, rebel, blow off, brush (off), disregard, flout, ignore, neglect, overlook, overpass, pass over, slight, tune out, wink (at), dismiss, pooh-pooh, scorn, shrug off, defy, resist, withstand
   opposite: comply (with), conform (to), follow, mind, obey, observe
   near: defer (to), serve, submit (to), surrender (to), yield (to), attend, hear, heed, listen (to), mark, note, notice, regard, watch

8. to find an answer for through reasoning

   "Professor Bates broke the problem when she realized that it was possible to synthesize the necessary compounds"

   similar: answer, crack, dope (out), figure out, puzzle (out), resolve, riddle (out), solve, unravel, unriddle, work, work out
   related: conclude, decide, deduce, gather, infer, judge, reason, clear (up), iron out, straighten (out), unscramble, untangle, untie, assume, conjecture, divine, guess, presume, speculate, decipher, decode

9. to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of

   "I broke a tooth on the hard candy"

   similar: blemish, bloody, compromise, crab, cripple, cross (up), damage, deface, disfigure, endamage, flaw, harm, hurt, impair, injure, mar, spoil, vitiate
   related: deteriorate, enervate, enfeeble, undermine, weaken, erode, scour, wash out, wear (away), blight, tarnish, dent, ding, dint, botch, gum (up), queer, lacerate, wound, disable, hamstring, lame, maim, mangle, mutilate, torment, torture, annihilate, bang up, bash, batter, clobber, crush, dash, decimate, demolish, desolate, destroy, devastate, do in, pulverize, raze, ruin, scourge, shatter, smash, tear down, total, waste, wipe out, wreck
   opposite: doctor, fix, mend, patch, rebuild, recondition, reconstruct, renovate, repair, revamp
   near: cure, heal, help, rectify, rehabilitate, remedy, edit, remodel, revise, ameliorate, better, enhance, enrich, improve, meliorate, perfect, refine

10. to stop functioning

    "after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day"

    similar: break down, conk (out), crash, cut out, die, fail, give out, stall
    related: fizzle, sputter, wheeze, act up, malfunction, jam
    opposite: start (up)

11. to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening

    "the herd of gazelles broke when they saw the lions racing toward them from the ridge above"

    similar: bolt, bug out, flee, fly, hightail (it), retreat, run, run away, run off, skedaddle, beat a retreat, beat it, make tracks, turn tail
    related: abscond, clear out, decamp, elope, escape, get (away), get out, lam, light out, make off, mizzle (chiefly British), scarper (British), scat, scram, skip (out), skirr
    near: beard, brave, confront, dare, defy, face, abide, dwell, hang around, linger, remain, stay, stick around, tarry

12. to use up all the physical energy of

    "the trek up the mountain just about broke me"

    similar: burn out, bust, do in, do up, drain, exhaust, fag, fatigue, frazzle, harass, kill, knock out, outwear, tire, tucker (out), wash out, wear, wear out, weary, wear to a frazzle
    related: debilitate, enervate, enfeeble, sap, waste, weaken
    near: activate, energize, invigorate, rejuvenate, strengthen, vitalize, relax, rest, unwind

13. to become known

    "as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country"

    similar: circulate, come out, get about, get around, get out, get round, leak (out), out, spread
    related: develop, transpire, unfold, disclose, reveal, spill, tell
    near: hush (up), suppress, conceal, disguise, hide, mask, secrete

14. to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts

    "another bad investment could break him"

    similar: bankrupt, bust, ruin
    related: beggar, impoverish, pauperize, reduce, straiten, clean (out), wipe out
    near: enrich, richen

15. to come into existence

    "the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking"

    similar: actualize, appear, arise, begin, commence, dawn, engender, form, materialize, originate, set in, spring, start
    related: be, breathe, exist, live, subsist, arrive, come on, emerge, coalesce, cohere, shape (up), continue, endure, last, persist, survive
    opposite: cease, end, stop
    near: conclude, desist, discontinue, finish, halt, quit, terminate, disappear, dissolve, evaporate, vanish, depart, die, expire, pass away, perish

16. to depart abruptly from a straight line or course

    "the running back broke to his left before running out of bounds"

    similar: cut, sheer, swerve, veer, yaw, zag, zig
    related: skew, slew, arc, arch, bend, bow, crook, curve, hook, round, sweep, wheel, about-face, pivot, circle, coil, curl, loop, spiral, turn, twist, wind, weave, zigzag, deviate, stray, wander, waver
    opposite: straighten

17. to diminish the price or value of

    "distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks"

    similar: attenuate, cheapen, depreciate, depress, devaluate, devalue, downgrade, lower, mark down, reduce, sink, write down, write off
    related: debase, demonetize, underestimate, underprice, underrate, undervalue, abridge, compress, contract, de-escalate, deflate, downsize, dwindle, lessen, moderate, shrink
    opposite: appreciate, enhance, mark up, upgrade
    near: bloat, blow up, inflate, overestimate, overprice, overrate, overvalue, add, aggrandize, amplify, augment, balloon, boost, compound, dilate, enlarge, escalate, expand, extend, heighten, increase, maximize, multiply, raise, swell, up

18. to go beyond the limit of

    "a menu with prices that is likely to break the budgets of all but the wealthiest of diners"

    similar: exceed, outreach, outrun, overpass, overreach, overrun, overshoot, overstep, surpass, transcend
    related: encroach, entrench, infringe, invade, trespass, overdo, overuse, overutilize, overwork

19. to penetrate the surface (as of water) from below

    "dolphins were breaking all around the boat"

    similar: broach, surface
    related: emerge, rise
    near: dive, drop, drown, founder, plunge, sink, submerge, submerse