Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for shatter on Thesaurus.com 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. Show More
verb (used without object) to be broken into fragments or become weak or insubstantial. Show More
Usually shatters. fragments made by shattering. Show More
Origin of shatter 1300–50; Middle English schateren < ?; cf.
scatter Related forms shat·ter·er , noun shat·ter·ing·ly , adverb non·shat·ter , noun non·shat·ter·ing , adjective un·shat·tered , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for shattered smash ,
dash ,
splinter ,
wreck ,
ruin ,
explode ,
exhaust ,
demolish ,
crush ,
impair ,
disable ,
split ,
fracture ,
crack ,
snap ,
destroy ,
blast ,
burst ,
rattle ,
devastate Examples from the Web for shattered Contemporary Examples of shattered Shattered by the verdict, I understood our country to be in a dismal state.
Shattered completely, she crumbled toward the exit and disappeared.
There will be a lot of “This Is How We Live Now” and “Shattered Innocence” in the weeks to come.
Shattered glass from a row of blown-out windows crunched beneath her feet.
Shattered pieces of glass and yellow police tape surrounded the spot.
Historical Examples of shattered Any cold and cruel dawn may show it, Shattered , desecrated, overthrown.
Shattered , humiliated, sullen, the horse wheeled and returned.
Shattered rock was thick on the floor, and they skidded and tumbled over it.
Shattered also was the fair shape that held the spirit of Stella.
Shattered by the scorn of the Puritans, the stage had not dared to raise its arm for a blow.
British Dictionary definitions for shattered broken into many small pieces impaired or destroyed dumbfounded or thoroughly upset informal tired out or exhausted Show More
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 (tr) informal to cause to be tired out or exhausted an obsolete word for scatter Show More
(usually plural) obsolete , or dialect a fragment Show More
Derived Forms shatterer , noun shattering , adjective shatteringly , adverb Word Origin for shatter C12: perhaps obscurely related to scatter
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for shattered v. early 14c., transitive, probably a variant of Middle English scateren (see scatter (v.)). Cf. Old Dutch schetteren Low German schateren . Formations such as scatter-brained had parallel forms in shatter-brained , etc. Intransitive sense from 1560s. Related: Shattered ; shattering . Carlyle (1841) used shatterment . Shatters "fragments" is from 1630s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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