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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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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for comminute
Verb
  • Use a sieve to sift out any large chunks, and continue to grind until fine.
    Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Vince has an estranged adult daughter; Jake is an absentee father to a young son; Jake is partnered in his restaurant with a big celebrity; both brothers used to be rock stars; a former restaurant employee has an axe to grind with Jake.
    Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Throughout the residency, Bad Bunny gave other Puerto Rican artists their flowers, sharing the stage with performers such as the early-aughts reggaeton diva Ivy Queen and the hand-drum-pounding quartet Los Pleneros de la Cresta.
    Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2025
  • Israeli forces control Gaza City’s eastern suburbs and in recent days have been pounding the Sheikh Radwan and Tel Al-Hawa areas, from where they would be positioned to advance on central and western areas where most of the population is sheltering.
    Reuters, NBC news, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • An employee at a frozen pizza manufacturing plant was fatally crushed by a robotic machine, Wisconsin officials told news outlets.
    Mitchell Willetts, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2025
  • The thrilling highs and crushing lows of entrepreneurship were on repeat in an addictive, never-ending cycle.
    Sarah Barnes-Humphrey, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • As both business owner and head baker — her black chef’s coat is usually powdered with flour, her hands stained with icing — Vee won’t have time this June to participate in the Chicago Pride Parade.
    Sophie Levenson, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2025
  • Pallets of jurema bark, powdered and shredded, in a storage room at one of Akasha Song’s production facilities.
    Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 22 May 2025
Verb
  • The Golden Bears opened the 2024 season by beating UC Davis 31-13, Auburn 21-14 and SDSU 31-10.
    Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The South Korean automaker is projected to easily beat 2024 sales numbers for both EV models.
    Charles Singh, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Performers milled around the crowd, dancing, delivering short monologues and posing in specific formations to cast their shadows just so.
    Anika Reed, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Rock outfit Thelma and Louise performed a litany of rock songs and ’90s standards while guests milled about eating some of Orange County’s best fare.
    Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 15 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • In sacrificing its global influence for the chance to spend the past year pulverizing the previously unheard-of city of Pokrovsk in the Donbas, Russia has proved not its resilience but its near irrelevance.
    Jeremy Shapiro, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2025
  • This allows Carnival to crush leftovers and pulverize it into literal fish food that can be dumped into the sea.
    John Kell, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • According to experts, the early signs of a disintegrating friendship are often easy to miss and can be difficult to address.
    Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
  • The future of the Abraham Accords Israel’s war in Gaza and its drive to establish military dominance in the Middle East have degraded the Abraham Accords but will not disintegrate the agreement.
    Monica Marks, Time, 19 Sep. 2025

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“Comminute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comminute. Accessed 24 Sep. 2025.

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