What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Shatter vs Shed - What's the difference?

shatter | shed |

In transitive terms the difference between shatter and shed

is that shatter is to dispirit or emotionally defeat while shed is to radiate, cast, give off (light); see also shed light on.

In obsolete terms the difference between shatter and shed

is that shatter is to scatter about while shed is an area of land as distinguished from those around it.

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)

    shed

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) sheden, scheden, schoden, from (etyl) 'he cuts off'). Related to (l); (l).

    Verb

  • (transitive, obsolete, UK, dialect) To part or divide.
  • A metal comb shed her golden hair.
    (Robert of Brunne)
  • (ambitransitive) To part with, separate from, leave off; cast off, let fall, be divested of.
  • You must shed your fear of the unknown before you can proceed.
    When we found the snake, it was in the process of shedding its skin.
  • * Mortimer
  • White oats are apt to shed most as they lie, and black as they stand.
  • * 2012 November 2, Ken Belson, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/sports/new-york-city-marathon-will-not-be-held-sunday.html?hp&_r=0]," New York Times (retrieved 2 November 2012):
  • She called on all the marathoners to go to Staten Island to help with the clean-up effort and to bring the clothes they would have shed at the start to shelters or other places where displaced people were in need.
  • (archaic) To pour; to make flow.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Did Romeo's hand shed Tybalt's blood?
  • To allow to flow or fall.
  • I didn't shed many tears when he left me.
    A tarpaulin sheds water.
  • To radiate, cast, give off (light); see also shed light on.
  • Can you shed any light on this problem?
  • (obsolete) To pour forth, give off, impart.
  • * 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , Acts II:
  • Sence now that he by the right honde of god exalted is, and hath receaved off the father the promys off the holy goost, he hath sheed forthe that which ye nowe se and heare.
  • (obsolete) To fall in drops; to pour.
  • * Chaucer
  • Such a rain down from the welkin shadde .
  • To sprinkle; to intersperse; to cover.
  • * Ben Jonson
  • Her hair is shed with grey.
  • (weaving) To divide, as the warp threads, so as to form a shed, or passageway, for the shuttle.
  • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) schede, schode, (m), .

    Alternative forms

    * (dialectal) * (obsolete)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (weaving) An area between upper and lower warp yarns through which the weft is woven.
  • (obsolete) A distinction or dividing-line.
  • (obsolete) A parting in the hair.
  • (obsolete) An area of land as distinguished from those around it.
  • Derived terms
    * watershed

    Etymology 3

    Variant of shade .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A slight or temporary structure built to shade or shelter something; a structure usually open in front; an outbuilding; a hut.
  • a wagon shed'''; a wood '''shed'''; a garden '''shed
  • (British, derogatory, informal) An automobile which is old, worn-out, slow, or otherwise of poor quality.
  • (British, rail transportation) A locomotive.
  • *'>citation
  • Derived terms
    * * * * *

    See also

    * cabin * hovel * hut * kiosk * outbuilding * pergola * shack * shanty * stall * storehouse