as in nervous breakdown
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Recent Examples of basket case
Naím was once, in a happier day, the finance minister of Venezuela, and Hugo Chávez, who took a troubled but essentially prosperous country with a long democratic tradition and turned it into an international basket case, comes in for close study.
—
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022
When China was an economic basket case, 100 miles of ocean was more than enough deterrent.
—Roger Wicker, WSJ, 4 May 2022
The village was literally a basket case, bereft of water, food and all hope.
—Steve West, Sun Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2022
Venezuela, another socialist basket case, slips to the second-most-miserable country in the world after six years in the pole position.
—Steve H. Hanke, National Review, 16 Mar. 2022
See All Example Sentences for basket case
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022
When China was an economic basket case, 100 miles of ocean was more than enough deterrent.
—Roger Wicker, WSJ, 4 May 2022
The village was literally a basket case, bereft of water, food and all hope.
—Steve West, Sun Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2022
Venezuela, another socialist basket case, slips to the second-most-miserable country in the world after six years in the pole position.
—Steve H. Hanke, National Review, 16 Mar. 2022
See All Example Sentences for basket case
Recent Examples of Synonyms for basket case
Noun
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Originally published in 1961, the novel follows Josephine, a young woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
19 Aug. 2025
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Then there was Spark’s nervous breakdown in January 1954.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
10 Aug. 2025
Noun
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At the council meeting for the resolution, several migrants and their families spoke in favor of its passage, expressing their anxieties in day-to-day life, according to The Chronicle.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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The starting point is learning to cultivate present-moment awareness and simply noticing your anxiety.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Although the shooting causes alarm and triggers police investigations, Serafina initially escapes direct consequences by going into hiding.—
Isabella Wandermurem,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
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One involves Kirsh, who watches the lab remotely via security cameras but never sounds any alarm.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The final stage of the breakdown does, ultimately, involve Hermit and Slightly — and also, tragically, Arthur Sylvia.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
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Mid-century collective behavior theories considered social movements to be nonrational, spontaneous events occurring during moments of social and cultural breakdown.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Basket case.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/basket%20case. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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