Meaning & use
shatter
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To break suddenly and violently into many small pieces.
Grammar: Can take an object (shatter the glass) or be used without one (the glass shattered).
Patterns
- shatter something
- something shatters
- shatter into pieces
The glass shattered when it hit the floor.
The explosion shattered windows in nearby buildings.
The vase fell and shattered into tiny pieces.
verbtransitivefigurative
To destroy something completely, especially hopes, dreams, or confidence.
Grammar: Takes an object: shatter someone's hopes.
Patterns
- shatter someone's hopes
- shatter someone's dreams
- shatter someone's confidence
Losing the championship shattered their dreams.
The bad news shattered her confidence.
His hopes were shattered when he didn't get the job.
verbtransitive
To make a loud, sudden noise like something breaking.
Grammar: Often used with 'silence' or 'quiet': shatter the silence.
Patterns
- shatter the silence
- shatter the quiet
The alarm shattered the silence of the night.
A loud crash shattered the quiet morning.
Word forms
| third person singular | shatters |
|---|---|
| past tense | shattered |
| past participle | shattered |
| -ing form | shattering |
Common combinations
- shatter a record
- She shattered the world record in the 100-meter dash.
- shatter someone's hopes
- The injury shattered his hopes of playing in the final.
- shatter into pieces
- The mirror shattered into pieces when it fell.
- shatter the silence
- The phone's ring shattered the silence in the library.
- shatter a myth
- The study shattered the myth that money buys happiness.
Synonyms and how they differ
- smash
- Smash is similar but often suggests hitting something with force, while shatter emphasizes breaking into many small pieces.
- break
- Break is more general and can mean any kind of damage; shatter is stronger and implies a violent, complete breaking.
- destroy
- Destroy is broader and can mean ruining something completely, not just breaking it into pieces; shatter is more specific to breaking or figuratively ruining hopes.
Opposites
Word family
- shattering adjective
- Very shocking or upsetting, as in 'shattering news'.
- shattered adjective
- Extremely tired or emotionally devastated, as in 'I felt shattered after the exam'.
Commonly confused: shatter or scatter? shatter or splinter?
shatter vs scatter
Scatter means to throw or spread things over a wide area; shatter means to break into pieces.
shatter vs splinter
Splinter means to break into thin, sharp pieces, often wood; shatter is used for glass, ceramics, or figuratively for hopes.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
The correct preposition is 'into' when describing the result of breaking: shatter into pieces. The other prepositions do not fit this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shatter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.