pestle vs comminute

pestle is a noun but comminute is not a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
pestle	Yes	No	Yes	No
comminute	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, comminute is a hypernym of pestle; that is, comminute is a word with a broader meaning than pestle:

Other hypernyms of pestle include bray, crunch, grind, mash.

pestle (noun)	comminute (noun)
a club-shaped hand tool for grinding and mixing substances in a mortar
a heavy tool of stone or iron (usually with a flat base and a handle) that is used to grind and mix material (as grain or drugs or pigments) against a slab of stone
machine consisting of a heavy bar that moves vertically for pounding or crushing ores

pestle (verb)	comminute (verb)
grind, mash or pulverize in a mortar	reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading