as in to grind
to reduce to fine particles
eons of incessant pounding by the waves have comminuted the once-rocky shoreline into a bed of fine-grained sand
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Recent Examples of comminute
The report of displacement (out of alignment) is not as worrisome as if the fracture was comminuted (pieces).
—
Profootballdoc, sandiegouniontribune.com, 5 Nov. 2017
Profootballdoc, sandiegouniontribune.com, 5 Nov. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for comminute
Verb
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Miami is base camp for FIFA referees Miami will be ground zero for all 170 referees through the duration of the tournament as the city has been designated as their base camp.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
8 June 2026
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At The Happy Crane, Parry gives the char siu treatment to rich Iberico pork jowl, steams and grinds his own rice for the crab rice roll, and tosses Monterey abalone and Jimmy Nardello peppers into a smoking wok with XO sauce.—
Becky Duffett,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
8 June 2026
Verb
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They might be jolted awake with a pounding heart, multiple times a night, for years.—
Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse,
The Conversation,
11 June 2026
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When the worker said yes, there followed a cacophony of voices, radios, and pounding boots as police stormed the property.—
Heidi Blake,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
Verb
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Inland Empire cities in the path of the notorious San Andreas fault haven’t ordered the retrofit or demolition of old brick buildings, which could rain debris capable of crushing pedestrians, cars and buses with deadly force onto sidewalks and streets during shaking.—
Shelby Grad,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
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The largest eastern elk would have weighed up to a thousand pounds, and a stomp or kick from that powerful animal was fatal; the skulls of dogs and wolves would be crushed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
Verb
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The packets are filled with powdered, crystalized lime and taste like a fresh squeeze.—
Abbey Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
18 May 2026
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Each day, an FX makeup team used around 400 prosthetics on the passengers, and made 3,000 gel capsules filled with sodium bicarbonate, citric acid and red powdered Kool-Aid.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The score was still 3-1 after 20 minutes, but Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb beat Bussi with a shot from the circles that crossed the goal line a fraction of a second after the clock hit zero.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
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The Carolina Hurricanes have evened up the Stanley Cup Final once more thanks to Jordan Staal’s two-goal night in Las Vegas to beat the Golden Knights in Game 4, 5-3.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 June 2026
Verb
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Videos taken at the event appear to show officers pinning youth down, with one young person placed in handcuffs and young people milling around the carnival area of the annual festival.—
Ben Wheeler,
Kansas City Star,
8 June 2026
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On the second day of the competition, hundreds of high school students milled about in team gear as parents and mentors mingled in the stands, waving pompoms or holding banners to celebrate when student robot operators took to the field.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
8 June 2026
Verb
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The rest — bottles, cups, ties, get washed into our oceans, entangling sea birds and when they get pulverized into microplastics, they’re eaten by sea turtles who often die.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
18 May 2026
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Since 2019, the tiny Mediterranean country has been in the throes of an economic crisis that pulverized the value of its local currency and its banking system.—
Malak Harb,
Fortune,
15 May 2026
Verb
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None are quite about the conflicting frames of reference and value that arise when an ancient cultural formation disintegrates and a successor has yet to take its place.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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Right now, the rings furthest from the planet are disintegrating and drifting into space.—
David M. Drucker,
Twin Cities,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Comminute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comminute. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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