Definition of "shatter" [shat•ter]

• To cause to break or burst suddenly into pieces, as with a violent blow. (verb-transitive)
• To damage seriously; disable: His health was shattered by the disease. (verb-transitive)
• To cause the destruction or ruin of; destroy: The outcome of the conflict shattered our dreams of peace and prosperity. (verb-transitive)
• To break into pieces; smash or burst. See Synonyms at break. (verb-intransitive)
• The act of shattering. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "“Yeah,” he said, and listened to the word shatter like glass."
• "Today, we have films like “Ringu” (or, for the almost-as-good Americanized version, “The Ring”) that once again shatter the rules of what we know."
• "But I have heard a certain word shatter the chant divine,"