earth-shattering
adjective
earth-shat·ter·ing
ˈərth-ˈsha-tə-riŋ 
Synonyms
Examples of earth-shattering in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Enter Email Sign Up Landis’s account, included in a forthcoming memoir, would rewrite the narrative of one of modern American history’s most earth-shattering days in an important way.
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Peter Baker, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Sep. 2023
While the iPhone's camera had become the subject of praise with the many and consistent updates, those looking for earth-shattering changes did not find them with this model.
—USA TODAY, 10 Sep. 2023
For instance, the news that season eight’s Paige and Adam didn’t last wasn’t exactly earth-shattering.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 29 Aug. 2023
Within the world of the characters and the behind-the-scenes gossip of the series, though, that one warm, friendly phone call was just short of earth-shattering.
—Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023
Boston has stepped into the shoes of Helen, a mother who has just moved her daughter Aly (played by Roan Curtis of Firefly Lane) into her college dorm when her husband of twenty years throws her an earth-shattering curveball.
—Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 17 Aug. 2023
When all is said and done, don’t expect to have learned anything earth-shattering from Freeze this week.
—Ainslie Lee | Alee@al.com, al, 17 July 2023
An alien message would be an earth-shattering revelation, and whoever controls access to the message, SETI argues, controls one of the world’s most important collections of megabytes.
—Ben Weiss, Fortune Crypto, 4 July 2023
Cecilia Payne's earth-shattering discovery utterly undermined the status quo.
—Lucy Evans, Scientific American, 22 June 2023
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Peter Baker, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Sep. 2023
While the iPhone's camera had become the subject of praise with the many and consistent updates, those looking for earth-shattering changes did not find them with this model.
—USA TODAY, 10 Sep. 2023
For instance, the news that season eight’s Paige and Adam didn’t last wasn’t exactly earth-shattering.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 29 Aug. 2023
Within the world of the characters and the behind-the-scenes gossip of the series, though, that one warm, friendly phone call was just short of earth-shattering.
—Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023
Boston has stepped into the shoes of Helen, a mother who has just moved her daughter Aly (played by Roan Curtis of Firefly Lane) into her college dorm when her husband of twenty years throws her an earth-shattering curveball.
—Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 17 Aug. 2023
When all is said and done, don’t expect to have learned anything earth-shattering from Freeze this week.
—Ainslie Lee | Alee@al.com, al, 17 July 2023
An alien message would be an earth-shattering revelation, and whoever controls access to the message, SETI argues, controls one of the world’s most important collections of megabytes.
—Ben Weiss, Fortune Crypto, 4 July 2023
Cecilia Payne's earth-shattering discovery utterly undermined the status quo.
—Lucy Evans, Scientific American, 22 June 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'earth-shattering.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1859, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of earth-shattering was
circa 1859
Dictionary Entries Near earth-shattering
Cite this Entry
“Earth-shattering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/earth-shattering. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
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