The Collaborative International Dictionary
Comminute \Com"mi*nute\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Comminuted; p.
pr. & vb. n. Comminuting.] [L. comminutus, p. p. of
comminuere to comminute; com- + minuere to lessen. See
Minute.]
To reduce to minute particles, or to a fine powder; to
pulverize; to triturate; to grind; as, to comminute chalk or
bones; to comminute food with the teeth.
--Pennant.
Comminuted fracture. See under Fracture.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
n. pulverized material. vb. 1 To pulverize; to smash. 2 (context medicine English) To cause fragmentation (of bone). 3 To break into smaller portions.
WordNet
Wikipedia
Usage examples of "comminute".
After his removal it was found that his left humerus was fractured at its lower third, and apparently comminuted.
I told her what you told me to tell her: that you were now but an incoherent series of compound fractures extending from your scalp-lock to your heels, and that the comminuted projections caused you to look like a hat-rack.
With an occasional lounge on the soft sand, when the body became clad in a costume of mica spangles and finely comminuted shell grit, the bathe continued for two hours, with an after effect of sleek and silky content.
Granted that no one can draw a clear line and define the limits within which a miracle is healthy working and beyond which it is unwholesome, any more than he can prescribe the exact degree of fineness to which we must comminute our food.