shattering

verb

present participle of shatter
1
as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of tried to restore their shattered hopes

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in smashing
to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive shattered the sealed clay pot to find out what was inside

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in demolishing
to cause to break with violence and much noise shattered the priceless vase in one clumsy fall

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shattering The video shows a customer walking out of Cinnaholic when the girls ride the scooter through the window, shattering the glass. — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026 Wednesday, which was forecast to be the hottest day of the heat wave, brought record-shattering temperatures across the Southland. — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026 In 1985, the director Kevin Sullivan produced, with primary funding from the Canadian Broadcasting Company and support from PBS, a record-shattering Anne miniseries. — Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026 The video obtained by the group NorCal Bodycam and shared with ABC7 Bay Area appears to show the operator asleep before the train crashes into the rear of another train ahead of it, shattering window glass. — ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026 Meanwhile, epidemiologist Susan Mayne said the government has responded slowly to the record-shattering outbreak that started in May, which demonstrates how the nation's federal food safety programs are in disarray. — Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 20 Aug. 2026 Majdi described his son’s birth in near-metaphysical terms, his own grief as shattering. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026 France was about to experience a record-shattering heat wave, with ninety-degree weather, in a time of year that, for as long as anyone can remember, has always been lovely and mild. — Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2026 In 2018 a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 fan blade snapped, shattering a window and sucking a woman’s head and torso outside of the plane. — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shattering
  1. destroying
  2. smashing
  3. ruining
  4. demolishing
  5. devastating
  6. blowing
  7. wrecking
  8. exploding
Verb
  • Pumping at high speeds creates a suction vortex (upconing) that violently draws heavy sludge into the production stream, fouling piping and destroying surface pumps.
    — Siddharth Misra, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The tornado wreaked havoc in the village of 1,000 inhabitants, reducing homes to rubble and destroying numerous cars.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • Bland said officers were dispatched after a 911 caller reported that Garcia had been walking down the street with a baseball bat, smashing car windows.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Nvidia guided for 70% revenue growth in fiscal-year 2028, smashing estimates of 40%.
    — Benzinga, Freep.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of smashing
Verb
  • For a full breakdown of how to clean your bedding without ruining it, refer to AD's guide on how to wash a comforter.
    — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 24 Aug. 2026
  • This allegedly caused the cancellation of school recesses, and also ruining weddings and funerals.
    — Finnegan Belleau, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of ruining
Verb
  • As community members organized marches and protests, Abdeen helped bring a class-action lawsuit against the city, arguing that demolishing the neighborhood would violate residents’ civil rights.
    — Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Trump has faced widespread criticism for demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make room for the grand ballroom design.
    — Callum Sutherland, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of demolishing
Verb
  • Over 150 people have been killed and hundreds more are missing after devastating flash floods swept through the Himalayan region along the Nepal-Tibet border, officials from both countries confirmed Wednesday.
    — Callum Sutherland, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
  • And that roads budget included the funding to take care of the existing roads, which would have been devastating ecologically and socially, because if these roads keep falling off the hillsides, then people can’t use them.
    — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of devastating
Verb
  • Its exterior is rich with symbolism, from stone carvings representing the all-seeing eye of God to a golden statue, atop the highest spire, of an angel blowing a trumpet to herald the Second Coming.
    — Brandon Griggs, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
  • There is a micronation on a fortress at sea off the coast of Great Britain, and the British government once considered blowing it up.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of blowing
Verb
  • In a May interview on The Pivot Podcast, Davis blamed his opioid abuse for wrecking his home life.
    — Joshua Goodman, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The 1982-83 winter season, which coincided with a very strong El Niño, was historically destructive for California’s coast, with storms wrecking the Santa Monica and Seal Beach piers.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of wrecking
Verb
  • Likewise, Roman will see exploding stars called supernovas that allow astronomers to measure how fast the universe has been expanding.
    — Don Figer, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Steiner said a mass of glacial ice dropping from a great height could have felt like a bomb exploding, resulting in the chaos that followed.
    — Sibi Arasu, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of exploding

Browse Nearby Words

shattered
shattering
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Cite this Entry

“Shattering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shattering. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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