comminuted

English

Etymology

From comminute +‎ -ed.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒmɪnjuːtɪd/

Adjective

comminuted (comparative more comminuted, superlative most comminuted)

1. Reduced to small particles or to powder, as by crushing or pulverizing.
   • 1856, Noble Heath, A Treatise on Arithmetic, page 256:

     The student will, however, have some idea of the minuteness of the unit which would then be wanting to complete the square, when he is informed that, if we suppose the whole globe we inhabit to be composed of sand, such that a cubic inch would contain ten millions of grains, a ten-tredecillionth of the globe would be less than the billionth part of one of these extremely minute grains, which part, could the grain be so comminuted, could never be discovered, even by the aid of the most powerful microscope.

   • 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 53:

     Hawaiian sand is utterly different: it is comminuted coral and algae, the broken detritus of a hundred thousand storms washed up against the land.

   • 1992, Bailey et al., Undesirable Flavors of Meat, Food Science and Nutrition Department, University of Missouri, in Off-Flavors in Foods and Beverages (Elsevier), p. 127:

     Although WOF [warmed-over flavor] has generally been recognized as pertaining to cooked meat, it can also develop rapidly in raw comminuted meat when exposed to air.

Synonyms

• triturated

Verb

comminuted

1. simple past and past participle of comminute