ˈpəlvəˌrīz verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Usage: see -ize
Etymology: Middle French pulveriser, from Late Latin pulverizare, from Latin pulver-, pulvis dust, powder + -izare -ize — more at pollen
transitive verb
1. : to reduce (as by crushing, beating, or grinding) to very small particles (as in fine powder or dust) : atomize
pulverize the soil with steel implements — Russell Lord
mower … pulverizes grass clippings — Star Weekly
2. : to destroy by or as if by smashing into fragments : disintegrate , annihilate , demolish , vanquish
buildings pulverized by a tornado
a bomb that could pulverize a city
if in the east Socialism has been pulverized by the totalitarian state — Times Literary Supplement
started as a slashing journalistic critic … joyfully pulverizing every kind of conventional nonsense — Edgar Johnson
intransitive verb
: to become pulverized