as in to grind
to reduce to fine particles eons of incessant pounding by the waves have comminuted the once-rocky shoreline into a bed of fine-grained sand

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of comminute The report of displacement (out of alignment) is not as worrisome as if the fracture was comminuted (pieces). Profootballdoc, sandiegouniontribune.com, 5 Nov. 2017 Also, this prognosis is rooted in my hopefulness the fracture is not comminuted (in multiple pieces), as that might prolong the timeline by a couple of weeks. Profootballdoc, sandiegouniontribune.com, 16 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for comminute
Verb
  • This precise semiautomatic machine can grind your beans, push out balanced shots, and froth your milk.
    Scott Gilbertson, Wired News, 11 July 2025
  • The fact that everybody was there and everyone was grinding, there was that little extra motivation to really get this thing going.
    Vic Tafur, New York Times, 11 July 2025
Verb
  • There's something uniquely humbling about pounding the pavement for over 26 miles.
    Henry Fan, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
  • One nationwide study found that teenagers who had been stopped by police a lot often showed signs of post-traumatic stress, like feeling their heart pounding when recalling the event.
    Dr. Marvin So, Mercury News, 30 July 2025
Verb
  • Schwarber crushed a first-pitch sweeper, hitting the ball nearly to the right-field concourse, for the two-run home run in the third.
    LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 30 July 2025
  • To obtain the copper ore, Resolution, which is owned by multinational firms Rio Tinto and BHP, will use a method known as block cave mining in which tunnels are drilled beneath the ore body, and then collapsed, leaving the ore to be moved to a crushing facility.
    Debra Utacia Krol, AZCentral.com, 30 July 2025
Verb
  • Pallets of jurema bark, powdered and shredded, in a storage room at one of Akasha Song’s production facilities.
    Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 22 May 2025
  • Makeup patted him down—he’d worked up a coat of sweat during the setup—and powdered him up; the costumer threw his shirt on him.
    Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Even children who attempted to combat the racist laws were killed or beaten as in the Soweto Youth Uprising of 1976.
    Time, Time, 29 July 2025
  • On Tuesday, Golden ran a double move and beat both cornerback Nate Hobbs and safety Evan Williams for a 60-yard touchdown from quarterback Jordan Love.
    Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
Verb
  • The logs can be cut, milled, sanded and finished just like real wood, and the layers mimic the growth rings of a tree, making the product as aesthetically pleasing as the real thing.
    LEW SICHELMAN, Miami Herald, 10 July 2025
  • La Tourangelle mills a range of nut oils at its facility in northwest Woodland, powered by a solar farm producing 350 kilowatt-hours of electricity.
    Camila Pedrosa July 6, Sacbee.com, 6 July 2025
Verb
  • Remaining bones are pulverized and mixed with the compost, which is then put in another vessel and allowed to sit for another 30 days or so.
    Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 16 July 2025
  • Next big thing: In the wake of his team being pulverized on the boards in losing the first two games in Las Vegas, Glass went big midway through the first period.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 July 2025
Verb
  • After that group disintegrated, the pair linked up with the guitarist and drummer of another band, Mythology — Iommi and Bill Ward — in late 1968 and formed a sextet called the Polka Tulk Blues Band.
    Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 22 July 2025
  • Substantial, but not so much so that the bun will disintegrate from rivers of juice.
    Li Goldstein, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 July 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Comminute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comminute. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on comminute

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!