| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| shatter |
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| SYLLABICATION: | shat·ter |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  sh t  r |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: shat·tered, shat·ter·ing, shat·ters
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To cause to break or burst suddenly into pieces, as with a violent blow. 2a. To damage seriously; disable: His health was shattered by the disease. b. To cause the destruction or ruin of; destroy: The outcome of the conflict shattered our dreams of peace and prosperity. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | To break into pieces; smash or burst. See synonyms at break. | | NOUN: | 1a. The act of shattering. b. The condition of being shattered. 2. A splintered or fragmented condition. Often used in the plural: a rare piece of porcelain now in shatters. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English schateren, from Old English *sceaterian, to scatter. | | OTHER FORMS: | shatter·ing·ly —ADVERB
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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