ENGLISH
REFERENCE

shattered

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈʃætɝd// UK //ʃˈætəd// shat·tered Informal

adj. feeling extremely tired or exhausted. You can also use it to describe something that is broken into many tiny pieces.

adj. feeling physically or emotionally exhausted; also describes an object broken into numerous small fragments. Often follows a linking verb like 'feel' or 'be' when describing a person's state.


SIMPLE

I am absolutely shattered after that long run.

CONTEXTUAL

By the time they finished moving all the furniture into the new apartment, everyone felt completely shattered.

COMPLEX

The glass door was shattered into thousands of tiny shards, leaving the shop owner both devastated and physically shattered from the stress of the break-in.

Synonyms
Usage

Often modified by intensifiers like 'absolutely' or 'completely'.

Pitfall

I am shattering after workI am shattered after workLearners confuse the active participle '-ing' with the passive participle '-ed'; 'shattered' describes the person's feeling.

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