sönder
See also: sonder and sonder-
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Swedish sundr, from Proto-Germanic *sundraz, from Proto-Indo-European *sn̥Hter-.
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Adjective
sönder
- (predicative only) broken, out of order
- Datorn är sönder. Den startar inte.
- The computer is broken. It won't start.
- Synonym: trasig
Adverb
sönder (not comparable)
- into a broken or destroyed state
- Motorn gick sönder
- The engine broke
- Hon hade sönder datorn genom att köra fel kommando
- She broke the computer by running the wrong command
- Hon slog sönder datorn
- She smashed the computer
- Hon rev sönder kontraktet
- She ripped up the contract
- Hon sparkade sönder lampan
- She kicked out the light
Usage notes
The primary notion is being (or being made) broken or destroyed, whether demolished, torn up, shattered, through malfunction, or in some other way. Coming apart is not inherent in the word, despite the English (near) cognate asunder. Shades of disintegration appear in some compounds, like sönderdela and sönderfall, as well as in söndra.
Derived terms
- sönder och samman
See also
- isär (“apart, asunder”)
- itu (“in two”)
Further reading
- sönder in Svensk ordbok.
- sönder in Reverso Context (Swedish-English)
Anagrams
- drösen, nöders