What does brooked mean?
'Brooked' is the past tense and past participle of the verb 'to brook', which means to tolerate or allow something, particularly conduct that one finds objectionable. The word carries a distinctly formal, even literary tone, and appears overwhelmingly in negative constructions: a monarch who 'brooked no opposition', an editor who 'brooked no delay', a teacher who 'never brooked excuses'. To use it affirmatively ('she brooked his presence') sounds archaic to most modern ears. Its connotation is one of firm authority — the subject typically holds power and refuses to yield ground. The verb shares its origin with the unrelated noun 'brook', meaning a small stream, though the two senses come from different roots. For writers seeking a crisp, elevated way to convey uncompromising resolve, 'brooked' remains a precise and evocative choice, especially in phrases like 'brooked no interference'.
verbBrooked is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb 'brook', meaning to tolerate or permit something, especially something one disapproves of. It is used almost exclusively in negative constructions, such as 'would not brook' or 'brooked no interference'.
- To tolerate or permit (something unwelcome); to put up with, used chiefly in negative or emphatic constructions.
"The stern headmistress brooked no nonsense in her classroom."
"The general brooked no dissent among his officers."
"She would not have brooked such insolence from a junior colleague."
A word so stubborn it refuses to appear without a 'no' beside it — you can hardly ever say someone simply 'brooked' something.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of brooked
The verb 'brook' descends from Old English 'brūcan', meaning to use, enjoy, or make use of, and over time its sense narrowed to tolerating what one must accept or endure. It shares this Germanic root with German 'brauchen' (to need or use) and Dutch 'gebruiken' (to use), making them distant cousins of the modern English word. This verb is etymologically unrelated to the noun 'brook', meaning a small stream, which derives from a separate Old English word for a watercourse. The negative idiom 'will brook no...' became firmly established by the early modern period and remains the word's principal habitat today.
Related word forms
How brooked is actually used
Formal to literary in register, and almost always found in negative or emphatic constructions ('brooked no argument', 'would not brook defiance'). Affirmative uses are rare and sound archaic. Common in historical fiction, biography, and descriptions of authoritative figures.
Easily confused with brooked
'Booked' means reserved or registered in advance, while 'brooked' is the past tense of the verb meaning to tolerate or allow.
'Brook' as a noun means a small stream; as a verb it means to tolerate — 'brooked' belongs only to the verb sense.