shatter
Americanverb (used with object)
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shatters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shattered,
past participle, past
-
shattering
present participle
-
to break (something) into pieces, as by a blow.
-
to damage, as by breaking or crushing.
ships shattered by storms.
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to impair or destroy (health, nerves, etc.).
The incident shattered his composure.
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to weaken, destroy, or refute (ideas, opinions, etc.).
He wanted to shatter her illusions.
verb (used without object)
-
shatters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shattered,
past participle, past
-
shattering
present participle
noun
verb
-
to break or be broken into many small pieces
-
(tr) to impair or destroy
his nerves were shattered by the torture
-
(tr) to dumbfound or thoroughly upset
she was shattered by the news
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informal (tr) to cause to be tired out or exhausted
-
an obsolete word for scatter
noun
Synonym Usage
See break.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonshatternoun
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shatterernoun
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nonshatteringadjective
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shatteringadjective
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unshatteredadjective
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shatteringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shattersimple
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shatterssimple
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have shatteredperfect
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has shatteredperfect
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am shatteringprogressive
-
are shatteringprogressive
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is shatteringprogressive
-
have been shatteringperfect progressive
-
has been shatteringperfect progressive
Past
-
shatteredsimple
-
had shatteredperfect
-
was shatteringprogressive
-
were shatteringprogressive
-
had been shatteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shatter
1300–50; Middle English schateren < ?; cf. scatter
Explanation
When you shatter something, you smash it or break it into small bits. If your sister hits a baseball directly into the kitchen window, the window will shatter — and your sister will be in big trouble. When you drop something fragile, it will probably shatter—lightbulbs, teacups, mirrors, and windows all shatter fairly easily. Things can also shatter in a less literal way, when it just feels like they're breaking apart violently. If your best friend ignores you all day, your heart shatters; and if you stumble and fall on your way up to a podium to give a speech, your confidence may shatter.
Vocabulary lists containing shatter
Lesson 11
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Towers Falling
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Blasted to Smithereens: Synonyms for "Break"
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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.
See Examples For:
Researchers discovered shatter cones in numerous rock outcrops.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
The force of the explosion was strong enough to shatter some of the first- and second-floor windows of a nearby apartment building.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Revealing his luxurious lifestyle would shatter the state’s propaganda that Kim suffers alongside his people—nearly half of whom are malnourished.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
But 2026 could shatter records, with rocket and AI company SpaceX, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and AI startup Anthropic all potentially making their stock market debuts.
From Barron's ● May 17, 2026
All told, perhaps ten thousand people braved the heat to witness just six minutes of racing—six minutes that would shatter the dreams of all but nine of the boys about to take to the water.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
After a fall shatters his ankle, his stepchildren dump him with his daughter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
Read: Oil shatters $100 ceiling, hitting levels not seen since 2022 as Iran conflict escalates.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 9, 2026
It’s that type of benevolence that fuels Minnesota nice, and what shatters it.
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026
That already shatters the current record price garnered by a basketball card — the $5.9 million paid for the 2009-10 Panini National Treasures Stephen Curry Logoman Autograph card in a 2021 private estate sale.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2025
The glass shatters, the sound echoing through the room.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Possessed of huge drive, vast wealth and immense personal charm, Archer bounced back from disaster and, more than once, rebuilt a shattered life.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
When Fiona Gill was struck by a van she was left with a shattered pelvis, two broken vertebrae and a broken leg.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Falcon 9, which made its debut in 2010, launched at rates that shattered expectations about how often rockets could fly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Nearby infrastructure is shattered and entombed beneath the deposits.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
Thunder boomed as a fork of lightning shattered the night.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
And Oxnard hit 99 degrees on Sunday, shattering the daily record of 94 degrees set in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Equally shattering is a cue surging through a long scene bereft of dialogue, where Alex discovers a tampered-with wine bottle and realizes that he is married to a spy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Both apps allowed wagers on the number of “explosive diarrhea” cyclosporiasis and measles cases this year, with both outbreaks shattering records.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
This blockbuster class of drugs is shattering all sales records.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Tally closed her eyes, waiting for the shattering impact of cold water.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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