I. ˈshad.ə(r), -atə- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English schateren; perhaps akin to Middle Low German schāteren to explode, Greek skedannynai to scatter, Lithuanian skedervà splinter
transitive verb
1. : to cause to drop or be dispersed : scatter
with a measured tap of his forefinger he shattered the ash from his cigar — Hamilton Basso
the slightest jar shatters the petals of a full-blown rose
wind could shatter out wheat — A.B.Guthrie
2.
a. : to splinter with or as if with a blow : reduce to fragments : fracture , smash
fifty windowpanes were shattered by the missiles — American Guide Series: Connecticut
amethysts caught the light, shattering it and sending it forth again in a thousand fragments — Louis Bromfield
b. : to damage badly : ruin , wreck
men whose faces had been shattered on the Italian fronts — James Stern
rough weather … shattered the mainmast — C.O.Paullin
3.
a. : to cause the disruption or annihilation of : disintegrate , demolish
riflemen … shattered each wave of attackers before it could come within volleying distance — American Guide Series: Tennessee
one cold puff of piety … shattered the warm colorful world of romance — Osbert Lancaster
the legend of Rome's invincibility had been shattered — John Buchan
b. : to cause to break down : impair , destroy
his health was shattered … by the war — V.H.Paltsits
people collide with harsh experience and are shattered — Paul Engle
nothing but death was strong enough to shatter that inherited restraint — Ellen Glasgow
4. : to separate (a flower) into clusters of petals which are then wired or taped
her wrist corsage was of shattered yellow carnations — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News
intransitive verb
1. : to make a rattling sound : clatter
rain … shatters at the windowpane — Maurice Hewlett
2. : to break apart : become shattered : shiver , disintegrate
turned back … to see the laboratory window shatter — W.N.Marsh
the Empire of the Incas … shattered at Pizarro's touch — Bernard De Voto
3. : to drop or scatter leaves, petals, fruit (as kernels of ripe grain or the berries of grapes)
the wheat shattered in the field before harvest
Synonyms: see break
II. noun
( -s )
1. : fragment , shred — usually used in plural
the plate was in shatters on the floor
2. : an act of shattering or state of being shattered ; specifically : a plant disease characterized by premature dropping or dehiscence
studies on the shatter of grapes — L.P.Miller
3. : a result of shattering : shower , spatter
sunlight broke … painfully in his eyes like a shatter of gold glass — David Beaty