shatter

[ shat-er ]
See synonyms for: shattershatteredshattering on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to break (something) into pieces, as by a blow.

  2. to damage, as by breaking or crushing: ships shattered by storms.

  1. to impair or destroy (health, nerves, etc.): The incident shattered his composure.

  2. to weaken, destroy, or refute (ideas, opinions, etc.): He wanted to shatter her illusions.

verb (used without object)
  1. to be broken into fragments or become weak or insubstantial.

noun
  1. Usually shatters. fragments made by shattering.

Origin of shatter

1
1300–50; Middle English schateren< ?; cf. scatter

synonym study For shatter

1. See break.

Other words for shatter

Other words from shatter

  • shat·ter·er, noun
  • shat·ter·ing·ly, adverb
  • non·shat·ter, noun
  • non·shat·ter·ing, adjective
  • un·shat·tered, adjective

Words Nearby shatter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use shatter in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shatter

shatter

/ (ˈʃætə) /


verb
  1. to break or be broken into many small pieces

  2. (tr) to impair or destroy: his nerves were shattered by the torture

  1. (tr) to dumbfound or thoroughly upset: she was shattered by the news

  2. (tr) informal to cause to be tired out or exhausted

  3. an obsolete word for scatter

noun
  1. (usually plural) obsolete, or dialect a fragment

Origin of shatter

1
C12: perhaps obscurely related to scatter

Derived forms of shatter

  • shatterer, noun
  • shattering, adjective
  • shatteringly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012