Synonyms of shatter

shatter 1 of 2

verb

ˈsha-tər 

1

as in to destroy

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of

tried to restore their shattered hopes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroy
• ruin
• demolish
• devastate
• smash
• wreck
• overcome
• damage
• erode
• pulverize
• vaporize
• annihilate
• decimate
• extinguish
• waste
• ravage
• raze
• mar
• break
• cripple
• desolate
• crush
• tear down
• dismantle
• total
• kill
• pull down
• cream
• injure
• rub out
• defeat
• disintegrate
• remove
• wrack
• subdue
• nuke
• impair
• do in
• blast
• best
• dissolve
• conquer
• surmount
• deteriorate
• spoil
• harm
• obliterate
• disfigure
• prevail (over)
• vitiate
• lick
• eradicate
• mutilate
• win (against)
• triumph (over)
• master
• whip
• trim
• mangle
• deface
• rout
• fell
• dynamite
• undo
• scotch
• sweep (away)
• beat
• overbear
• trample
• thrash
• expunge
• wear (away)
• unmake
• blow up
• clobber
• disassemble
• trounce
• assassinate
• scour
• efface
• wipe out
• exterminate
• wash out
• sack
• overmatch
• take down
• extirpate
• gut
• slay
• havoc
• slaughter
• liquidate
• blot out
• despoil
• cut down
• execute
• snuff (out)
• plunder
• zap
• drub
• wallop
• stamp (out)
• kill off
• loot
• unbuild
• murder
• vandalize
• pillage
• root (out)
• take out
• massacre
• dilapidate
• mow (down)
• butcher
• trash
• dispatch
• skunk

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• build
• construct
• raise
• create
• set up
• erect
• repair
• fix
• put up
• make
• produce
• mend
• patch
• rear
• establish
• invent
• protect
• found
• form
• constitute
• forge
• shape
• assemble
• manufacture
• mold
• preserve
• fabricate
• save
• organize
• frame
• bring about
• recondition
• restore
• institute
• revamp
• fashion
• reconstruct
• conserve
• rebuild
• doctor
• father
• renovate
• remodel

2

as in to smash

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

• smash
• demolish
• destroy
• blow
• explode
• burst
• pop
• blast
• detonate
• blow up
• ruin
• annihilate
• wreck
• fragment
• decimate
• dynamite
• splinter
• discharge

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• collapse
• implode

3

as in to demolish

to cause to break with violence and much noise

shattered the priceless vase in one clumsy fall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• smash
• destroy
• demolish
• fracture
• fragment
• crash
• split
• ruin
• crack
• break down
• vaporize
• wreck
• crush
• annihilate
• devastate
• splinter
• desolate
• pulverize
• decimate
• tear down
• snap
• total
• waste
• shiver
• bust
• wrack
• nuke
• bash
• crunch

shatter

2 of 2

noun

as in splinter

Related Words

• splinter
• shard
• flake
• sliver
• shiver
• chip
• segment
• portion
• section
• remnant
• paring
• shred
• clipping
• remainder
• shaving
• fragment
• leftover
• stub
• atom
• molecule
• grain
• particle
• snip
• dribble
• mote
• scruple
• fleck
• patch
• crumb
• fraction
• speck
• nugget
• morsel
• granule
• snippet
• end
• tatter
• scrap
• tittle
• flyspeck
• nubbin
• piece
• bit
• cantle
• oddment

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shatter

Verb

This view suggests that the sense of shame was collectively weakened by a series of self-interested actors who shattered the social firmament and opened up the gates to chaos. — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2026

Scientists literally had to pick up the pieces after the wafers containing the solar wind samples shattered into thousands of tiny shards. — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 8 Sep. 2026

Noun

The laminate reinforces the glass to create a shatter-resistant barrier, preventing shards of glass from flying out during extreme weather. — Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026

Melamine is a shatter-resistant material that is perfect for outdoor dining—and all the potential accidents that come with busy households with kids or hosts who entertain a lot. — Erin Mayer, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 July 2026