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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Microboone has ground left to cover.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Apr. 2026
-
An assortment of stone tools, including grinding slabs, mullers, pestles, and mortars, suggested that grain was processed on-site.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The day the truce was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, killing more than 300 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
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Eyes wide and heart pounding, Jason watched as the clock ticked away, as the Kansas City Chiefs racked up points against his Baltimore Ravens, and as the odds, and score, tipped insurmountably in their favor.—
Max Klaver,
Miami Herald,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Kundrat, meanwhile, crushed an opposite-field grand slam to left-center to give the Porters a 7-1 lead in the third inning.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The way to crush imperialism has been shown to the world.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
His face and arms are mysteriously darkened, as if powdered with soot, but somehow—and this is the first of a dozen quirks in the painting—his white shirt is in near-mint condition.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
16 Mar. 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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His snapper and one-timer are borderline elite and can cleanly beat goalies from anywhere in the offensive zone (the puck really rattles off his blade).—
Scott Wheeler,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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The Swedish winger snapped a shot from the high slot that beat Dostal glove-side for his team-leading 73rd point.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That’s thanks to a blend of Brazilian clays finely-milled into powders which blend easily into roots (even on darker hair colors).—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
8 Apr. 2026
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Floorboards were milled from walnut trees felled at a construction site in North Carolina.—
Adriane Quinlan,
Curbed,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Compared to my Vitamix, the Nutribullet is lightweight, takes up less space on the counter, and is still able to pulverize frozen fruit and ice with the same force.—
Alaina Chou,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
1 Apr. 2026
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However, while chemically the same, beach sand is made up of tiny crystals of quartz that have been pulverized by geological weathering and the pounding of ocean waves.—
John Ballato,
The Conversation,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The meteor was moving southwest at 30,000 miles per hour and traveled 117 miles through the upper atmosphere before disintegrating 27 miles above the town of Galloway north of Atlantic City, New Jersey, according to NASA.—
Kate Perez,
USA Today,
8 Apr. 2026
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Or this object, known by the prosaic designation C/2026 A1 (MAPS), could totally disintegrate, vaporized by the fierce heat of our star.—
Tony Hoffman,
PC Magazine,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Comminute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comminute. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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