shatter
[verb]
Synonyms:
- smash, break, burst, crack, crush, pulverize
- destroy, demolish, ruin, torpedo, wreck

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Related Idioms: smash to smithereens (or bits)
Related Words: break, crack, rend, snap, spalt, split, crunch, crush, crash, dash, fragmentalize, fragmentize, pulverize, demolish, destroy, disintegrate, ruin, total, wreck

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English Thesaurus: break, smash, shatter, crack, burst, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

shat‧ter /ˈʃætə $ -ər/ verb
[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: Probably from an unrecorded Old English sceaterian]

1. [intransitive and transitive] to break suddenly into very small pieces, or to make something break in this way
shatter into
The plate hit the floor, and shattered into tiny bits.
The explosion shattered the building.

2. [transitive] to completely destroy or ruin something such as someone’s beliefs or life:
A tragic accident shattered her dreams of Olympic glory.
A few weeks in a tiny damp room soon shattered his illusions about university life.
people whose lives have been shattered by war

3. shatter the silence/peace if a loud noise shatters the silence or peace, it is suddenly heard:
The silence was shattered by a warning shout.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

shatter
verb
I. break into very small pieces
ADV. completely
PHRASES shatter (sth) into pieces The mirror shattered into a thousand pieces.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

shatter
II. destroy sth completely
ADV. completely an event that completely shattered her life
abruptly, brutally, rudely, suddenly The moment was abruptly shattered by the sound of Mia's loud voice.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

shatter

shatter sb’s hopes
Their hopes had been shattered by the outbreak of war.
shatter sb’s confidence
Public confidence has been shattered.
shatter a dream (=make it impossible for someone to achieve or get something they want)
He spoke yesterday about the injury which shattered his Olympic dream.
shatter sb’s illusions (=make someone realise their beliefs are wrong)
I hate to be the one to shatter your illusions, but you’re wrong.
shatter an image (=make people realise the idea they have about something is wrong)
The book shattered the image of the contented American housewife.
shatter a myth (=show that an idea was completely wrong)
Economic studies have shattered the myth that population growth is bad for a nation’s economy.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

break verb [intransitive] to become damaged and separate into pieces:
Plastic breaks quite easily.
smash verb [intransitive] to break after being hit with a lot of force:
The bowl smashed as it hit the floor.
shatter verb [intransitive] to break into a lot of small pieces:
The glass shattered all over the pavement.
crack verb [intransitive] if something cracks, a line appears on the surface, which means that it could later break into separate pieces:
The ice was starting to crack.
burst verb [intransitive] if a tyre, balloon, pipe etc bursts, it gets a hole and air or liquid suddenly comes out of it:
She blew up the balloon until it burst.
split verb [intransitive] to break in a straight line:
The damp had caused the wood to split.
crumble verb [intransitive] to break into a powder or a lot of small pieces:
The cork just crumbled in my hand.
hole an empty space in the surface of something, which sometimes goes all the way through it:
A fox had dug a hole under our fence.
Rain was coming in through a hole in the roof.
space an empty area between two things, into which you can put something:
Are there any empty spaces on the bookshelf?
a parking space
gap an empty area between two things or two parts of something, especially one that should not be there:
He has a gap between his two front teeth.
I squeezed through a gap in the hedge.
opening a hole that something can pass through or that you can see through, especially at the entrance of something:
The train disappeared into the dark opening of the tunnel.
I looked through the narrow opening in the wall.
leak a small hole where something has been damaged or broken that lets liquid or gas flow in or out:
a leak in the pipe
The plumber's coming to repair the leak.
puncture especially British English a small hole in a tyre through which air escapes:
My bike's got a puncture.
slot a straight narrow hole that you put a particular type of object into:
You have to put a coin in the slot before you dial the number.
A small disk fits into a slot in the camera.
crater a round hole in the ground made by an explosion or by a large object hitting it hard:
a volcanic crater
The meteor left a crater over five miles wide.
the craters on the moon

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

break verb [transitive] to damage something and make it separate into pieces, for example by dropping it or hitting it:
Careful you don’t break the chair.
He broke his leg.
smash verb [transitive] to break something with a lot of force:
A policeman smashed his camera.
snap verb [transitive] to break something into two pieces, making a loud noise – used especially about long thin objects:
He snapped the sticks in two.
split verb [transitive] to separate something into two pieces along a straight line:
Using a sharp knife, split the melon in half.
fracture verb [transitive] to damage a bone, especially so that a line appears on the surface:
I fell over and fractured my wrist.
tear /teə $ ter/ verb [transitive] to damage paper or cloth by pulling it so that it separates into pieces:
She tore up the letter and put it in the bin.
I tore my jacket.
shatter verb [intransitive] to break into a lot of small pieces:
The glass shattered all over the pavement.
crack verb [intransitive] if something cracks, a line appears on the surface, which means that it could later break into separate pieces:
The ice was starting to crack.
burst verb [intransitive] if a tyre, balloon, pipe etc bursts, it gets a hole and air or liquid suddenly comes out of it:
She blew up the balloon until it burst.
crumble verb [intransitive] to break into a powder or a lot of small pieces:
The cork just crumbled in my hand.
have/take a break
After two hours, she took a break and switched on the radio.
need a break
I’m sorry, I can’t do any more - I need a break.
a short/quick break
Shall we have a quick five-minute break?
a lunch break
What time’s your lunch break?
a coffee/tea break
How about a coffee break?
a morning/afternoon break
I don’t usually have time for a morning break.
a well-earned break (=one that you deserve)
Everyone’s looking forward to a well-earned break when the exams are over.
vacation especially American English, holiday especially British English time you spend away from school or work:
Are you taking a vacation this summer?
We met on holiday in Cyprus.
What are you doing in the school holidays?
holiday a day that is set by law, when no one has to go to work or school:
the Thanksgiving holiday
New Year's Day is a national holiday.
In 2002, there was an extra public holiday to mark the Queen's golden jubilee.
the August bank holiday (=day when all the banks and shops are closed – used in British English)
leave a time when you are allowed not to work:
We get four weeks' annual leave (=paid time off work each year).
He has been taking a lot of sick leave (=time off work because you are ill) recently.
Angela is on maternity leave (= time off work when having a baby).
He was given compassionate leave (=time off work because someone close to you has died, is very ill etc) to go to his father's funeral.
sabbatical [usually singular] a period when someone, especially a teacher, stops doing their usual work in order to study or travel:
She was on sabbatical for six months.
I'm thinking of taking a sabbatical.
furlough a period of time when a soldier or someone working in another country can return to their own country as a holiday:
While on furlough, he and his girlfriend got married.
R & R (rest and relaxation) a holiday, especially one given to people in the army, navy etc after a long period of hard work or during a war:
Soldiers in Vietnam were taken to Hawaii for R & R.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲