shatter

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shat|ter /ʃ'ætər/ (shatters shattering shattered)
1 [VERB] V, V into n, V n
If something shatters or is shattered, it breaks into a lot of small pieces.
...safety glass that won't shatter if it's broken...
The car shattered into a thousand burning pieces in a 200mph crash...
One bullet shattered his skull.
● shattering [N-UNCOUNT]
...the shattering of glass.
2 [VERB] V n, V n
If something shatters your dreams, hopes, or beliefs, it completely destroys them.
A failure would shatter the hopes of many people...
Something like that really shatters your confidence.
3 [VERB] be V-ed, V n
If someone is shattered by an event, it shocks and upsets them very much.
He had been shattered by his son's death.
...the tragedy which had shattered his life.
4
see also shattered, shattering

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