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shatter
[shat-er]
verb (used with object)
to break (something) into pieces, as by a blow.
to damage, as by breaking or crushing.
ships shattered by storms.
to impair or destroy (health, nerves, etc.).
The incident shattered his composure.
to weaken, destroy, or refute (ideas, opinions, etc.).
He wanted to shatter her illusions.
verb (used without object)
to be broken into fragments or become weak or insubstantial.
noun
Usually shatters. fragments made by shattering.
shatter
/ ˈʃætə /
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
informal, (tr) to cause to be tired out or exhausted
an obsolete word for scatter
noun
obsolete, (usually plural) a fragment
Other Word Forms
- shatterer noun
- shatteringly adverb
- nonshatter noun
- nonshattering adjective
- unshattered adjective
- shattering adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of shatter1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Pictures showed shattered windows, cracks from shrapnel, a gaping hole in the mud-brick wall and twisted metal from hospital beds covering the floor.
They found a shattered sliding glass door and two televisions missing, the probation report said.
But even if that were to happen, said Shosh Sasson, 72, there was a sense of something having been irretrievably shattered.
This is a character in flux, someone whose illusions of fairness and merit have been shattered by corporate scheming.
That evening, I wrote an essay about what the crisis and shattering of norms would mean for America’s ailing democracy.
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