nonbroken

Nonbroken is an English adjective formed with the negative prefix non- attached to the word broken. It denotes that something is not broken, i.e., intact or undamaged. In contemporary usage, nonbroken is uncommon and often sounds more technical or archaic than more common synonyms such as unbroken, intact, or undamaged.

Origin and usage notes: The non- prefix is productive in English, creating many terms (for example, nonfat, nonfiction). Nonbroken tends to appear in technical, legal, or specialized writing where a uniform negative prefix is preferred. Compared with unbroken, nonbroken can carry a slightly more formal or procedural tone. In general writing, style guides usually favor unbroken or intact for clarity and naturalness.

Contexts and examples: In materials testing or quality control, one might encounter phrasing like nonbroken segments of a cable after a stress test, though unbroken or intact segments would also be understood and are often preferred. In branding or product descriptions, NonBroken may be chosen as a capitalized name to convey resilience, even though it is not common in everyday prose.

Limitations and alternatives: Because nonbroken is relatively rare outside technical contexts, writers often substitute unbroken, intact, or undamaged to avoid unfamiliarity. When precision is important, choosing the most direct term in the given context—unbroken for continuity, intact for condition, or undamaged for harm—helps prevent ambiguity.

See also: unbroken, intact, undamaged, whole.