shatters 1 of 2

present tense third-person singular of shatter
1
as in destroys
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of tried to restore their shattered hopes

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2
as in smashes
to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive shattered the sealed clay pot to find out what was inside

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3

shatters

2 of 2

noun

plural of shatter

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shatters
Noun
That embryonic Xenomorph then shatters its container and leaps at Wendy, who pets it gently. Noel Murray, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2025 Trump's action shatters this precedent, inviting chaos. Dan Irvine, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025 Researchers say communities like Bogalusa endure a collective trauma that shatters their sense of safety. Fred Clasen-Kelly, NPR, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shatters
Verb
  • Liposuction surgically removes fat cells, while cryolipolysis freezes and destroys them.
    Bryant Stamford, The Courier-Journal, 29 Aug. 2025
  • But the loving couple’s equilibrium hits a major bump when a freak coastal storm destroys Theo’s new building before its inauguration and viral videos compound his humiliation.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • At a single, two-minute dinner, Hermann Kafka smashes a cockroach while denigrating his son’s engagement to Felice Bauer before reiterating his distaste for Franz’s writing.
    Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Excitement around the closing stretch is spilling onto the charts in the United Kingdom, as a wave of Coldplay smashes return and rise this frame.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Kafka’s life and work are fragmented, so the film had to be fragmented too—piecing together shards of his fiction, his letters, and his lived experience.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Did a Smurl sister really vomit bloody glass shards?
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The brittle, eco-friendly bamboo straw is another concession to the community, as are the splinters.
    Joe Joyce, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The syntax of reason splinters by the hour.
    Alaa Alqaisi August 13, Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Deadly flooding devastates South Asia Almost 400 people have died in Pakistan after flash floods brought destruction throughout the country’s north.
    Semafor Staff, semafor.com, 22 Aug. 2025
  • Illness devastates the novel’s humble, endearing protagonist, who bravely crosses class boundaries in her enthralling search for peace.
    Gabrielle Bellot, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Paul finds out and blows his top.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The mechanism blows inert gas across the fusion zone, preventing oxidation during the printing process.
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The token slivers of human-interest drama (a divorce battle, a visit to the pediatrician) that are meant to counterpoint the possibility of Armageddon with the oh-so-ironic triviality of quotidian concerns.
    Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
  • The suit sharpens political and regulatory scrutiny of Apple’s AI design choices, may pry open slivers of discovery that inform the DOJ’s case, and could even spur Apple to codify more explicit user choice.
    Anisha Sircar, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Athens, Greece Athens glows beneath Mediterranean light, where marble ruins rise from its timeworn hillsides—from the world-famous Parthenon to the Temple of Hephaestus.
    Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Egyptian officials shared one photo of the site, showing the mudbrick ruins of the settlement.
    Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Shatters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shatters. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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