broken vessel

noun

A person who is destroyed or forgotten, or who feels flawed or broken.

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Meanings

nounbroken vessel (plural broken vessels)

plural broken vessels

  1. idiomaticbiblicalA person who is destroyed or forgotten, or who feels flawed or broken.

    I am a broken vessel, Lord rubble where a soul should be.

    2000. Jill Alexander Essbaum, Kenosis (poem). Published in Heaven, University Press of New England, p. 48:http://books.google.com/books?id=vDQpQ8AzLPAC&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=%22i+am+a+broken+vessel%22&source=web&ots=ZTM7SmiZUK&sig=sfLc4PEUu7-tAY4q63i8dIofxsE#PPA48,M1
    2 more examples

    I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 31:12

    2005. Kara Williamson, quote in Undisguised, the new project by singer/songwriter Kara Williamson, Your Guide to Christian Music, Gospel, Feb 4 2005.https://web.archive.org/web/20060529091348/http://christianmusic.about.com/od/upcomingreleases/a/aakaraWundisg.htm I’m a broken vessel—thankfully, God uses broken vessels.

Origin

From Old Testament symbolism that people are like clay vessels.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

broken vessel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/broken%20vessel

MLA

“broken vessel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/broken%20vessel. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “broken vessel,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/broken%20vessel.

Source: broken vessel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.