pulverize
verb
pul·ver·ize
ˈpəl-və-ˌrīz 
pulverized; pulverizing
1
: to reduce (as by crushing, beating, or grinding) to very small particles : atomize
pulverize rock
2
: to become pulverized
Synonyms
Examples of pulverize in a Sentence
The mower pulverizes grass clippings.
Bits of pulverized rock filled the air.
Recent Examples on the Web
The slug pulverized her face, destroyed her cheek and jaw, blew away her eye socket and most of her teeth, damaged her optic nerve, wrecked both eyes and left a gaping hole in her cheek.
—
USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2024
Vast sections of Gaza have been pulverized; a fifth of its infrastructure and most of its homes are now damaged or destroyed, leaving the region largely uninhabitable.
—Agnès Callamard, Foreign Affairs, 15 Feb. 2024
The flesh comes in two forms, seductively photographed and viciously pulverized.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2024
The grisly incident encapsulates much of the horror of the moment in Gaza, a territory that has been pulverized by the Israeli military campaign that followed Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 strike on southern Israel.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024
Remember that volcanic ash is pulverized pieces of volcanic glass and(or) rock, so getting that in your lungs is never good.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 4 Dec. 2023
Now, in a study published earlier this year in the journal Nature Geoscience, a group of researchers argue that ultimately pulverized rock in the form of dust thrown up by the asteroid’s impact may have driven harsh climatic conditions.
—Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
Awaiting them is an army of guards and creepy biomechanical creatures who, of course, the Guardians pulverize in exhilarating fashion.
—Daron James, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2023
In clinic offices and outpatient surgical centers, doctors were inserting into leg arteries catheters affixed with lasers or blades to pulverize fatty deposits from vessel walls.
—Annie Waldman, ProPublica, 12 Dec. 2023
USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2024
Vast sections of Gaza have been pulverized; a fifth of its infrastructure and most of its homes are now damaged or destroyed, leaving the region largely uninhabitable.
—Agnès Callamard, Foreign Affairs, 15 Feb. 2024
The flesh comes in two forms, seductively photographed and viciously pulverized.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2024
The grisly incident encapsulates much of the horror of the moment in Gaza, a territory that has been pulverized by the Israeli military campaign that followed Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 strike on southern Israel.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024
Remember that volcanic ash is pulverized pieces of volcanic glass and(or) rock, so getting that in your lungs is never good.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 4 Dec. 2023
Now, in a study published earlier this year in the journal Nature Geoscience, a group of researchers argue that ultimately pulverized rock in the form of dust thrown up by the asteroid’s impact may have driven harsh climatic conditions.
—Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
Awaiting them is an army of guards and creepy biomechanical creatures who, of course, the Guardians pulverize in exhilarating fashion.
—Daron James, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2023
In clinic offices and outpatient surgical centers, doctors were inserting into leg arteries catheters affixed with lasers or blades to pulverize fatty deposits from vessel walls.
—Annie Waldman, ProPublica, 12 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pulverize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pulverize
Cite this Entry
“Pulverize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pulverize. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pulverize
verb
pul·ver·ize
ˈpəl-və-ˌrīz
pulverized; pulverizing
1
: to beat or grind into a powder or dust
2
: to destroy as if by pulverizing
Medical Definition
pulverize
verb
pul·ver·ize
variants
also British pulverise
pulverized also British pulverised; pulverizing also British pulverising
: to reduce (as by crushing, beating, or grinding) to very small particles
: to become pulverized
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share