pulverize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to reduce to dust or powder, as by pounding or grinding.
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to demolish or crush completely.
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Slang. to defeat, hurt badly, or, figuratively, render helpless.
The Kid pulverized Jackson with a series of brutal lefts. He's a veteran nightclub comic who can pulverize any audience in seconds.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to reduce (a substance) to fine particles, as by crushing or grinding, or (of a substance) to be so reduced
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(tr) to destroy completely; defeat or injure seriously
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pulverizesimple
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pulverizessimple
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have pulverizedperfect
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has pulverizedperfect
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are pulverizingprogressive
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am pulverizingprogressive
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is pulverizingprogressive
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have been pulverizingperfect progressive
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has been pulverizingperfect progressive
Past
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pulverizedsimple
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had pulverizedperfect
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was pulverizingprogressive
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were pulverizingprogressive
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had been pulverizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pulverize
1575–85; < Late Latin pulverizāre to reduce to powder, equivalent to Latin pulver- (stem of pulvis; akin to pollen ) dust + -izāre -ize
Explanation
When you pulverize something, you break it up until it becomes dust or powder. You might pulverize coffee beans in a grinder, running it until the coffee turns to powder. Pulvis is the Latin word for "dust." When something is turned into dust, often it becomes useless. That's why pulverize can also mean "to destroy or demolish." Construction crews pulverize a building using wrecking balls and sometimes even explosives. The materials left behind are broken into such small parts that they can't be salvaged for other uses.
Vocabulary lists containing pulverize
The Lightning Thief
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List 2
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Hatchet
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Among the other highlights of the residency is Pulverize the Sound, a collective featuring Mr. Evans, Tim Dahl on electric bass and Mike Pride on drums, playing an 8 p.m. set on Thursday.
From New York Times • Sep. 17, 2015
"Patriarchal Patriots Sear Seahawks!" and an earlier post: "Sensational Seahawks Pulverize Packers!"
From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2015
Pulverize them in a clean coffee grinder or spice grinder.
From Slate • Dec. 9, 2013
Caffein—The Fendler and Stüber Method—Tentative Pulverize the coffee to pass without residue through a sieve having circular openings 1 mm. in diameter.
From All About Coffee by Ukers, William H. (William Harrison)
Pulverize when cool, and apply as in the case of sand only.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
