What does interrupted mean?
“Interrupted” is the past tense and past participle of “interrupt,” and it is also widely used as an adjective describing something whose continuity or course was broken. An interrupted meeting may have been halted by a caller, while interrupted sleep has been disturbed by noise. The word can suggest either a temporary break or a more disruptive disturbance of an activity or process. It is formal enough for academic, technical, and professional prose, yet entirely ordinary in conversation. People also use it figuratively for patterns that repeatedly break off, such as interrupted conversations or an interrupted journey. In these forms, the participial sense is especially important: the thing interrupted is normally the grammatical subject, as in “an interrupted performance,” rather than the agent doing the interrupting. Overall, “interrupted” focuses attention on the effect of a break in continuity rather than on the person or event causing it.
The past tense and past participle of “interrupt”: to stop or cause something to stop, especially temporarily.
"A loud alarm interrupted the performers."
The form is standard in both British and American English.
Having its continuity broken or disrupted by an interruption.
"The recording contained several interrupted sections of speech."
This participial use is especially common before nouns such as “conversation,” “sleep,” “meeting,” and “performance.”
The word’s roots combine “between” and “break,” a fitting picture of continuity being split apart.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does interrupted come from?
The word entered English in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, borrowing Latin interruptus, the past participle of interumpere, “to interrupt” or “break into.” That Latin verb combines the prefix inter-, meaning “between” or “among,” with rumpere, “to break.” English cognates and related words such as disrupt, erupt, rupture, and abrupt ultimately share this Latin root.
Related word forms
How interrupted is actually used
The word is standard in both British and American English and may describe either a temporary stoppage or a substantial disturbance, depending on context. Its neutral register makes it suitable for formal, professional, technical, and everyday use.
Easily confused with interrupted
Interrupting usually means stopping an action, person, or conversation, whereas disrupting often means throwing a process or organized activity into disorder.