Brook

/bɹʊk/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive, formal, chiefly in the negative) To bear; endure; support; put up with; tolerate..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive, formal, chiefly in the negative) To bear; endure; support; put up with; tolerate.
2. (transitive, puristic, otherwise Scotland) To enjoy the use of; make use of; profit by; to use, enjoy, possess, or hold.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To earn; deserve.
4. (chiefly Northeastern US, parts of UK) A body of running water smaller than a river; a small stream.
5. (Sussex, Kent) A water meadow, or (in the plural) low, marshy ground.

Example Sentences

brook no refusal

I will not brook any disobedience.

I will brook no impertinence.

how shall I brook to be the first cause of difference between a father and son, to whom the averted look and the harsh word have been hitherto unknown?

But Sophia's mother was not the woman to brook defiance. After a few moments' vain remonstrance her husband complied. His manner and appearance were suggestive of a satiated sea-lion.

After delivering the reply he ordered the annalists, who have charge of the knots, to take note of it and include it in their tradition. By now the Spaniards, who were unable to brook the length of the discourse, had left their places and fallen on the Indians

The norm is submission to the supposed iron laws of technological inevitability that brook no impediment.

The faith in destiny and moral certainty claimed by would-be liberators brooks no resistance, and to register objections to their devotion is to be seen as the enemy of rightness.

Synonyms for brook

Antonyms for brook

Related Words

Word Forms

• brooks
• brooking
• brooked

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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