as in nervous breakdown
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Recent Examples of basket case
His main accomplishment was to transform the country by giving us Joe Biden who then transformed the country into a basket case.
—
Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 16 Oct. 2025
Over the course of their day together, Claire the princess (Ringwald), Andrew the jock (Estevez), Brian the brain (Hall), Allison the basket case (Sheedy) and John the criminal (Nelson) begin to drop their stereotypical public facades and reveal their private struggles.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 16 Aug. 2025
The Breakfast Club stars Molly Ringwald (Claire, the princess), Emilio Estevez (Andrew, the athlete), Judd Nelson (John, the criminal), Ally Sheedy (Allison, the basket case), and Anthony Michael Hall (Brian, the brain).
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2025
Communist China was a basket case under one-man rule.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 21 June 2022
See All Example Sentences for basket case
Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 16 Oct. 2025
Over the course of their day together, Claire the princess (Ringwald), Andrew the jock (Estevez), Brian the brain (Hall), Allison the basket case (Sheedy) and John the criminal (Nelson) begin to drop their stereotypical public facades and reveal their private struggles.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 16 Aug. 2025
The Breakfast Club stars Molly Ringwald (Claire, the princess), Emilio Estevez (Andrew, the athlete), Judd Nelson (John, the criminal), Ally Sheedy (Allison, the basket case), and Anthony Michael Hall (Brian, the brain).
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2025
Communist China was a basket case under one-man rule.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 21 June 2022
See All Example Sentences for basket case
Recent Examples of Synonyms for basket case
Noun
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As for this devastated, miserable, freaked out, walking nervous breakdown of a man?—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
25 Nov. 2025
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The 1970s were Hollywood’s nervous breakdown.—
Remy Blumenfeld,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The president is fighting against historical headwinds for the party in power and, like President Joe Biden before him, is navigating voter anxiety about the cost of living in America.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Mar. 2026
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In a year where anxiety over studio contraction and the rise of artificial intelligence often consumed the industry, both films gave Hollywood fresh hope.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Pollack was one of the first in the national media to raise alarms about Georgia’s lack of pass rush last season, something that proved to be a season-long issue.—
Connor Riley,
AJC.com,
12 Mar. 2026
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Some Republicans, too, are sounding alarms.—
Aamer Madhani,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Here's a breakdown of the eligibility requirements by program type.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
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The table below provides a quick breakdown of which provider is best based on different situations.—
Dan Simms,
USA Today,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Basket case.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/basket%20case. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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