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Shatter vs Collapse - What's the difference?

shatter | collapse |

In lang=en terms the difference between shatter and collapse

is that shatter is to dispirit or emotionally defeat while collapse is to pass out and fall to the floor or ground, as from exhaustion or other illness; to faint.

As verbs the difference between shatter and collapse

is that shatter is to violently break something into pieces while collapse is to fall down suddenly; to cave in.

As nouns the difference between shatter and collapse

is that shatter is (archaic) a fragment of anything shattered while collapse is the act of collapsing.

shatter

English

(wikipedia shatter)

Verb

(en verb)
  • to violently break something into pieces.
    • The miners used dynamite to shatter rocks.
    a high-pitched voice that could shatter glass
    The old oak tree has been shattered by lightning.
  • to destroy or disable something.
  • to smash, or break into tiny pieces.
  • to dispirit or emotionally defeat
    • to be shattered''' in intellect; to have '''shattered''' hopes, or a '''shattered constitution
  • * 1984 Martyn Burke, The commissar's report, p36
    • Your death will shatter him. Which is what I want. Actually, I would prefer to kill him.
  • * 1992 Rose Gradym "Elvis Cures Teen's Brain Cancer!" Weekly World News , Vol. 13, No. 38 (23 June, 1992), p41
    • A CAT scan revealed she had an inoperable brain tumor. The news shattered Michele's mother.
  • * 2006 A. W. Maldonado, Luis Muñoz Marín: Puerto Rico's democratic revolution, p163
    • The marriage, of course, was long broken but Munoz knew that asking her for a divorce would shatter her.
  • * Norris
    • a man of a loose, volatile, and shattered humour
  • (obsolete) To scatter about.
  • * Milton
    • Shatter your leaves before the mellowing year.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (archaic) A fragment of anything shattered.
    • to break a glass into shatters
    (Jonathan Swift)

    Anagrams

    * * English ergative verbs

    collapse

    English

    (wikipedia collapse)

    Verb

    (collaps)
  • To fall down suddenly; to cave in
  • * Maunder
    • A balloon collapses when the gas escapes from it.
  • To cease to function due to a sudden breakdown; to fail suddenly and completely
    • Pyramid schemes tend to generate profits for a while and then collapse .
  • To fold compactly
  • (cricket) For several batsmen to get out in quick succession
  • To cause something to collapse.
    • Hurry up and collapse the tent so we can get moving.
  • To pass out and fall to the floor or ground, as from exhaustion or other illness; to faint
    • The exhausted singer collapsed onstage and had to be taken to the hospital.

    Derived terms

    * collapsible

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of collapsing
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=April 21 , author=Jonathan Jurejko , title=Newcastle 3-0 Stoke , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=The top six are assured of continental competition and after making a statement of intent against Stoke, it would take a dramatic collapse for Newcastle to surrender their place.}}
  • Constant function, one-valued function (in automata theory) (in particular application causing a reset)

    • Anagrams

    * English ergative verbs ----