Breaking suddenly into pieces with a loud sound; emotionally devastating or extremely shocking.
From Middle English 'schateren,' possibly imitative of the sound of breaking. Related to German 'schmettern.' The figurative emotional meaning developed in the 19th century.
Shattering is one of English's best onomatopoetic words—it literally sounds like breaking glass when you say it, and it's been used for that sound since medieval times!
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