You can use broken to describe a marriage that has ended in divorce, or a home in which the parents of the family are divorced, when you think this is a sad or bad thing.
[before a noun] (of language) imperfectly spoken: couldn't understand his broken English. spoken in a halting or hesitant manner, as under emotional strain: In a broken voice he be
Something that's broken is severely damaged — it's either split into pieces or doesn't work anymore. Your broken alarm clock is no help at all when you're trying to get to school
Definition of broken adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.