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pul·ver·ize (pŭlvə-rīz′)
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v. pul·ver·ized, pul·ver·iz·ing, pul·ver·iz·es
v.tr.
1. To pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust.
2. To overwhelm or defeat utterly: The visitors pulverized the home team.
v.intr.
To be ground or reduced to powder or dust.
[Middle English pulverizen, from Late Latin pulverizāre, from Latin pulvis, pulver-, dust.]
pulver·iz′a·ble adj.
pul′ver·i·zation (-vər-ĭ-zāshən) n.
pulver·iz′er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2019 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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