SHATTERING Synonyms: 181 Similar and Opposite Words

shattering

verb

present participle of shatter

as in destroying

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of tried to restore their shattered hopes

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in demolishing

to cause to break with violence and much noise shattered the priceless vase in one clumsy fall

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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 Over the prairie there would be lightning that evening, dropping in shattering bolts from swollen purple clouds. —

Literary Hub, 3 June 2026 Renowned for his defense-shattering runs, vision, and dribbling, his time at FC Barcelona was legendary. —

Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 June 2026 Forty-eight days, 16 hours, 57 minutes and 12 seconds after a virus transforms humanity into a blissful symbiotic horde, one of its survivors, Carol (Rhea Seehorn), treats a rooftop as a personal driving range — the golf balls shattering a neighboring building’s windows. —

Daron James, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026 None of this felt realistic, especially not Colman Domingo’s sawed-off-shotgun-wielding Ali shooting up Alamo’s club in his mentee Rue’s honor, shattering a mask of poise that had defined his character (like the whiplash of Khaleesi’s end of Game of Thrones rogue era). —

Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 June 2026 With the Supreme Court shattering the district lines that created majority-Black seats in the American South and legislators scrambling to stay in office, the Congressional Black Caucus is wrestling over its identity. —

Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 1 June 2026 Those strikes heavily damaged the bases, burying most tunnel entrances under mountains of debris and shattering roads leading to the sites. —

Tamara Qiblawi, CNN Money, 31 May 2026 As the pattern settled in, summer heat finally arrived across the northern tier, shattering nearly 50 records, with temperatures up to 20 degrees above average, Fox Weather reported. —

Doyle Rice, USA Today, 30 May 2026 Traders are confident Elon Musk will reach trillionaire status before 2027 after buzz that SpaceX is set to have a record-shattering initial public offering. —

Ananya Chetia, CNBC, 29 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shattering

Verb

For decades, factories discharged pollution into waterways and wetlands, destroying natural habitats and forcing residents to live in the shadow of smokestacks and refineries.

— Gretchen Kalwinski, Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2026
In my view, Iran is hellbent on destroying Israel and America.

— Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 June 2026