shatter
Americanverb (used with object)
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to break (something) into pieces, as by a blow.
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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)
noun
verb
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to break or be broken into many small pieces
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(tr) to impair or destroy
his nerves were shattered by the torture
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(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
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an obsolete word for scatter
noun
Related Words
See break.
Other Word Forms
- nonshatter noun
- nonshattering adjective
- shatterer noun
- shattering adjective
- shatteringly adverb
- unshattered adjective
Etymology
Origin of shatter
1300–50; Middle English schateren < ?; scatter
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.
The hostilities “threatened to shatter the ‘no-war-no-peace’ situation,” that has existed since the end of the Tigray war, Oxford Analytica’s senior Africa analyst Matt Ward said in February.
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
Maple-slicked Brussels sprouts with charred leaves that shatter under your fork.
From Salon • Feb. 18, 2026
So AI knows how not to shatter a child’s imagination.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
Phil Sklar, CEO of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, said Hoosiers bobbleheads are on pace to shatter records for college championship sales.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2026
The carriage bounced and rattled along the stony streets, at times so violently it seemed as if the wheels would shatter.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
