Brokenness

past participle of break.
reduced to fragments; fragmented.
ruptured; torn; fractured.
not functioning properly; out of working order.
Meteorology. (of sky cover) being more than half, but not totally, covered by clouds.
Compare scattered (def 4).
changing direction abruptly:
The fox ran in a broken line.
fragmentary or incomplete:
a broken ton of coal weighing 1,500 pounds.
infringed or violated:
A broken promise is a betrayal of trust.
interrupted, disrupted, or disconnected:
After the phone call he returned to his broken sleep.
weakened in strength, spirit, etc.:
His broken health was due to alcoholism.
tamed, trained, or reduced to submission:
The horse was broken to the saddle.
imperfectly spoken, as language:
She still speaks broken English.
spoken in a halting or fragmentary manner, as under emotional strain:
He uttered a few broken words of sorrow.
disunited or divided:
Divorce results in broken families.
not smooth; rough or irregular:
We left the plains and rode through broken country.
ruined; bankrupt:
the broken fortunes of his family.
Papermaking, Printing. a quantity of paper of less than 500 or 1000 sheets.
Contemporary Examples

The Awful Apps That Let You Vote With Your Wallet Tim Mak August 21, 2014
The Feminist Aesthetic of ‘Happy Valley’: A Refusal to Eroticize Violence Against Women Batya Ungar-Sargon August 30, 2014

Historical Examples

The Calvary Road Roy Hession
The All-Sufficiency of Christ Charles Henry Mackintosh
The Calvary Road Roy Hession
Expositor’s Bible: The Gospel of Matthew John Monro Gibson
Nursing as Caring Anne Boykin
St. Cuthbert’s Robert E. Knowles
I, Mary MacLane Mary MacLane
Parables of the Christ-life I. Lilias Trotter

verb
the past participle of break
adjective
fractured, smashed, or splintered: a broken vase
imperfect or incomplete; fragmentary: a broken set of books
interrupted; disturbed; disconnected: broken sleep
intermittent or discontinuous: broken sunshine
varying in direction or intensity, as of pitch: a broken note, a broken run
not functioning: a broken radio
spoilt or ruined by divorce (esp in the phrases broken home, broken marriage)
(of a trust, promise, contract, etc) violated; infringed
overcome with grief or disappointment: a broken heart
(of the speech of a foreigner) imperfect in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation: broken English
Also broken-in. made tame or disciplined by training: a broken horse, a broken recruit
exhausted or weakened as through ill-health or misfortune
confused or disorganized: broken ranks of soldiers
breached or opened: broken defensive lines
irregular or rough; uneven: broken ground
bankrupt or out of money: a broken industry
(of colour) having a multicoloured decorative effect, as by stippling paint onto a surface
(South African, informal) drunk
adj.

When Britain’s Minister of State, Selwyn Lloyd[,] became bored with a speech by Russia’s Andrei Vishinsky in UN debate, he borrowed a Dizzy Gillespie bebop expression and commented: “Dig that broken record.” While most translators pondered the meaning, a man who takes English and puts it into Chinese gave this translation: “Recover the phonograph record which you have discarded.” [“Jet,” Oct. 15, 1953]