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

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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
  • Now, Lionel Messi and Miami have ground to make up on their home pitch.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
  • On TV and in real life, the bastards were grinding us down.
    Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The show follows Richards pounding the pavement in every shot as he is violently hunted.
    Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 3 Apr. 2025
  • That leaves us with Tim, STILL pounding the pills and booze.
    Dan Heching, CNN Money, 31 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The other wildcard for Apple is what Europe will do in the form of retaliatory measures for what Trump announced last Wednesday evening that crushed the stock market on Thursday and Friday.
    Matthew J. Belvedere, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
  • The Atlanta Braves were recently dealt a crushing blow when outfielder Jurickson Profar was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for PEDs.
    Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Standing in front of black and white curtains, Abuja Area Mama powders her face.
    Damisola Sulaiman, The Dial, 20 Feb. 2025
  • Soot blew in through gaps and cracks, sneaked under doors and snowed down from vents, homeowners said, powdering their carpets, closets, couches, pillows and quilts.
    Jack Healy, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Her defense has raised the possibility that someone else beat him to death and left him in the cold.
    Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Her decision to turn down the Apple beat at the Journal in 2007, the year the iPhone was released, in order to pursue an M.F.A. in fiction propels an exploration of how much human creativity depends on the ideas and labor of others.
    Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The qualifications are that all steps of production, from milling to maturation, must be done onsite, and at least two-thirds of the grains are grown on land owned or controlled by the estate.
    Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Locals will mill and chat on the sidewalk outside the wine bar Vineria Eretica, glasses in hand, as shopkeepers pull down their metal shutters and lock up for the night.
    Laura May Todd, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Israel’s military has decimated Gaza, pulverizing much of the enclave’s infrastructure over the last 15 months.
    Mike Brest, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 18 Jan. 2025
  • On Wednesday, the Palisades Fire continued to pulverize homes and buildings and was burning at 15,832 acres between the beach towns of Santa Monica and Malibu.
    Edward Segarra, USA TODAY, 9 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • In the Parsi tradition, the bones are left there to gradually disintegrate over time, completing the return to nature without defiling the earth.
    Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
  • The premier Copley Cup — which for decades drew the nation’s elite men’s varsity eights for an early-season east/west showdown – has disintegrated into an alumni race.
    Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Comminute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comminute. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

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