shatter
v.v. to break suddenly into many small pieces. It can also describe a feeling of being very shocked or upset.
v. to break or cause to break suddenly and violently into many fragments. Often used figuratively to describe the destruction of abstract concepts like dreams, peace, or confidence.
The glass will shatter if you drop it on the floor.
The sudden sound of the explosion caused every window in the street to shatter instantly.
The unexpected news of the scandal served to shatter the public's trust in the institution, a blow from which the administration struggled to recover for years.
From Middle English schateren (“to scatter, dash”), an assibilated form of Middle English scateren ("to scatter"; see scatter), from Old English scaterian, from Proto-Germanic *skat- (“to smash, scatter”), perhaps ultimately imitative. Cognate with Dutch schateren (“to burst out laughing”), Low German schateren, Albanian shkatërroj (“to destroy, devastate”). Doublet of scatter.
Can be used both transitively (to shatter something) and intransitively (something shatters).