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
Verb
When a server migration wipes out Sally’s treasured videos of him — and her phone containing backup copies accidentally shatters — the only hope is finding the original tapes. — Rachel Labonte, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2026 With their daughter away at college, Abby and husband Gordy (Arquette) are settling into life as empty nesters when the arrival of a mysterious young woman (Shouse) shatters their sense of safety. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2026 The attack underscores a widening front in the Iran war and shatters a 2022 ceasefire that had largely halted fighting in Yemen’s civil war. — Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026 After the cannon booms shatters these boxes, the ensemble tumbles together in a finale worthy of Tchaikovsky. — Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 11 Sep. 2026 Diesel shatters all-time records Diesel, a crucial fuel that powers trucks, trains, tractors and boats, has never been more expensive than today. — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026 Inadvertently, our entry shatters the glass ceiling, since Georgia and I are the only girls there. — Literary Hub, 17 Aug. 2026 But when a killer shatters the peace, Annie is faced with the task of confronting everyone’s collective trauma, while being thrown headfirst into a nightmare. — Alaina Urquhart, PEOPLE, 11 Aug. 2026 Continue reading … RAISING THE BAR — ICE shatters all-time mark with a jaw-dropping 51,000 arrests in July. — FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shatters
Verb
  • Ghidorah, a dragon who arrived from outer space, destroys a city in the opening set piece and only gets more dangerous from there.
    — James Grebey, Time, 3 Nov. 2026
  • This overfeeding triggers a runaway nuclear explosion that usually destroys the white dwarf.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • In them, a high voltage creates a hot plasma that smashes nuclei together.
    — George Musser, Quanta Magazine, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The episode’s action-movie finale drops the rest of the episode’s spoofy meta humor and aims at straight drama, as Butcherbird smashes through Katerina’s security detail and drops her disguise.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Cracking coalition That MAHA could fade out entirely or fracture into negligible shards seems like a very real possibility.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Neighbors are raising questions about the school's field where a student was injured by shards of glass.
    — Payton May, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • An $8,000 Ryvid Anthem or a $10,000 Maeving RM1S will deliver broadly similar urban usability, while the $12,500 Zero FXE absolutely demolishes it on power-per-dollar.
    — Utkarsh Sood June 12, New Atlas, 12 June 2026
  • The latest filing demolishes the timeworn claim that DOGE was infiltrated into Social Security in order to responsibly ferret out fraud and overspending.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • While the 44-6 vote effectively blows a $75 million hole in the mayor's 2027 budget proposal, alders argued the funds were always intended to continue chipping away at the city's $36 billion pension debt, not to help balance next year's budget.
    — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • That means that the part of the fan that blows air out needs to be on the exterior of your cube, and the back side of the fan that pulls in air needs to be on the inside of your cube.
    — John Alexander, Popular Science, 1 Nov. 2026
Noun
  • And why didn’t Colman get splinters during the film’s steamy bonking scenes?
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Legend has it this imperative caused the park’s architect, William Russell Everitt, to smash the original model to splinters with a baseball bat.
    — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 13 July 2026
Verb
  • As climate chaos causes oceans to swallow coastlands, and as surging water displaces and devastates communities, social survival will demand that people find ways to live and work with – and on – the water.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The urban planner and former professor also knows what happens next after a powerful earthquake devastates whole communities.
    — Luis Giraldo, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Most concerning for Talarico as Hispanic turnout explodes throughout the state are accounts that Latino men aren’t sold on his candidacy.
    — W. James Antle III, The Washington Examiner, 2 Nov. 2026
  • In other words, desire, in an unrepressed form, explodes the channels through which it is expected to flow.
    — Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 26 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Shatters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shatters. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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