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
Relevance
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
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Recent Examples of shattering
Juni was shot in the head twice, with one bullet skimming her eye, and the other shattering her jaw.
—
Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Bonded by a mysterious, complicated past, the men share a fraught, if occasionally tender relationship that had been forever altered by shattering events decades earlier.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2025
Finally, impact strength assesses a material’s ability to absorb sudden shocks without shattering, highlighting that the hardness alone doesn’t always mean toughness.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025
The tangible momentum, and euphoria, generated by the Rangers’ World Series run has evaporated to previous levels of soul-shattering indifference.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Sep. 2025
Video circulating on social media showed storm surges shattering the glass doors of the Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel, a luxury seaside resort, with huge waves gushing into the lobby and sweeping people off their feet.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
This prevents plastic buckets from breaking, for example, or glass bottles from shattering.
—New Atlas, 23 Sep. 2025
The director Chloé Zhao has created a gorgeous and shattering adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, which imagines how a personal tragedy led William Shakespeare to write Hamlet.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2025
The Golden State Valkyries finished the greatest season from an expansion team in league history, shattering attendance records and making a spirited playoff push that galvanized the fan base.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Bonded by a mysterious, complicated past, the men share a fraught, if occasionally tender relationship that had been forever altered by shattering events decades earlier.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2025
Finally, impact strength assesses a material’s ability to absorb sudden shocks without shattering, highlighting that the hardness alone doesn’t always mean toughness.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025
The tangible momentum, and euphoria, generated by the Rangers’ World Series run has evaporated to previous levels of soul-shattering indifference.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Sep. 2025
Video circulating on social media showed storm surges shattering the glass doors of the Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel, a luxury seaside resort, with huge waves gushing into the lobby and sweeping people off their feet.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
This prevents plastic buckets from breaking, for example, or glass bottles from shattering.
—New Atlas, 23 Sep. 2025
The director Chloé Zhao has created a gorgeous and shattering adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, which imagines how a personal tragedy led William Shakespeare to write Hamlet.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2025
The Golden State Valkyries finished the greatest season from an expansion team in league history, shattering attendance records and making a spirited playoff push that galvanized the fan base.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shattering
Verb
-
Since then, the Internet has gone about its immemorial business of destroying all incumbent forms of media; not content with vampirizing print, the digital space began sucking the life from pay-TV a dozen years ago.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Critics say returning the company without meaningful payment undercuts accountability and the compensatory purpose of the judgments; others note trustees and Judge Lopez have to avoid value-destroying, prolonged processes.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Brown climbed the ladder to haul in a pass over the middle from Madsen, beating his defender in the air acrobatically before smashing into the end zone turf for the catch and a 33-14 lead.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Superman proved to fire off the new DC under chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran, while the original gambles that Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy have made at the larger Warner Bros Motion Picture Group with Sinners and F1, as well as new IP A Minecraft Movie, have been smashing successes.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Doing so could compromise the slight taper at the hem, ruining the silhouette.—
Shea Simmons,
PEOPLE,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Car designers love them for not ruining the lines of the door with the necessities of real life, but is the benefit from drag reduction worth the safety risk?—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Tens of thousands have been fleeing the city, which has seen Israel demolishing high-rise buildings.—
Caitlin Danaher,
CNN Money,
20 Sep. 2025
-
Preservationists stepped in to keep the company from its standard practice of demolishing a vacant building.—
Cheryl V. Jackson,
IndyStar,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Not even a month had passed since his big sister, Toraya, was shot and killed at an apartment complex in New Jersey, devastating the Reid family and shaking the Timberwolves organization to its core.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Oil was discovered there in the 1920s, and the county went through booms and busts for decades, enriching wildcatters and devastating the landscape, until a lasting bust left Loving County a virtual wasteland with no running water, paved roads, schools, hospitals, or grocery stores.—
Mitch Moxley,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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He and his apprentices host glass- blowing classes on Fridays and Saturdays (reservation required), when guests can make anything from a bowl to a tumbler to an ornament.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Adam Berry/Getty Images What To Know Phoenix police said in a release to media that a 19-year-old was detained after wrecking a memorial for Kirk at the office of Turning Point USA, the conservative campus group that Kirk co-founded.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
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Despite the mixed reception, the money counter was an earnest attempt to keep the show running on schedule, preventing one or two self-indulgent speakers from wrecking the running time.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Russia fired a total of 595 exploding drones and decoys and 48 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday.—
Anders Hagstrom,
FOXNews.com,
28 Sep. 2025
-
The virtual sweepstakes games are exploding in popularity.—
CalMatters,
Oc Register,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shattering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shattering. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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