Synonyms of shattering

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

• destroying
• ruining
• demolishing
• devastating
• smashing
• wrecking
• damaging
• overcoming
• eroding
• pulverizing
• wasting
• annihilating
• extinguishing
• decimating
• vaporizing
• breaking
• crushing
• marring
• crippling
• totaling
• razing
• ravaging
• wracking
• tearing down
• pulling down
• dismantling
• killing
• blasting
• creaming
• desolating
• doing in
• defeating
• removing
• rubbing out
• nuking
• disintegrating
• injuring
• subduing
• conquering
• impairing
• dissolving
• surmounting
• deteriorating
• harming
• prevailing (over)
• licking
• obliterating
• spoiling
• clobbering
• trimming
• whipping
• disfiguring
• mastering
• mutilating
• winning (against)
• mangling
• thrashing
• besting
• routing
• eradicating
• undoing
• wearing (away)
• beating
• dynamiting
• defacing
• triumphing (over)
• vitiating
• walloping
• sweeping (away)
• gutting
• scouring
• disassembling
• trampling
• expunging
• slaughtering
• blowing up
• trouncing
• sacking
• plundering
• washing out
• overmatching
• effacing
• wiping out
• exterminating
• assassinating
• murdering
• vandalizing
• scotching
• taking down
• extirpating
• overbearing
• executing
• liquidating
• drubbing
• looting
• despoiling
• trashing
• cutting down
• stamping (out)
• unmaking
• slaying
• blotting out
• massacring
• pillaging
• zapping
• rooting (out)
• dispatching
• killing off
• snuffing (out)
• skunking
• taking out
• butchering
• felling
• mowing (down)
• unbuilding
• dilapidating
• havocking

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• building
• raising
• constructing
• creating
• repairing
• erecting
• fixing
• setting up
• rearing
• forming
• producing
• making
• putting up
• shaping
• establishing
• forging
• inventing
• manufacturing
• assembling
• protecting
• framing
• constituting
• molding
• fashioning
• organizing
• preserving
• fabricating
• saving
• patching
• mending
• revamping
• reconditioning
• bringing about
• instituting
• founding
• restoring
• doctoring
• reconstructing
• rebuilding
• conserving
• remodeling
• fathering
• renovating

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

• smashing
• demolishing
• blowing
• destroying
• exploding
• bursting
• popping
• blasting
• detonating
• blowing up
• wrecking
• ruining
• decimating
• annihilating
• dynamiting
• splintering
• fragmenting
• discharging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• collapsing
• imploding

3

as in demolishing

to cause to break with violence and much noise

shattered the priceless vase in one clumsy fall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• smashing
• destroying
• demolishing
• fracturing
• crashing
• splintering
• splitting
• wrecking
• crushing
• fragmenting
• cracking
• breaking down
• devastating
• ruining
• pulverizing
• vaporizing
• annihilating
• totaling
• wasting
• snapping
• decimating
• crunching
• shivering
• tearing down
• busting
• bashing
• desolating
• wracking
• nuking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shattering

Last week a number of concerned mathematicians, many of them at the top of their subject, launched the Association for Human Mathematics (AHM)—an effort that was underway even before the earth-shattering Navier-Stokes news. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 14 Sep. 2026

Maya’s fear of commitment mirrors the film’s fear of showing us anything truly ugly or grappling with the idea that our heroine is one of many, many people who lost someone during a society-shattering number of years. — Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026

After enduring a record-shattering heat wave this spring, Southern California continued to break temperature records this week when Long Beach and Anaheim reached a blistering 107 degrees and Escondido hit 112 degrees. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Europe saw a series of record-shattering heat waves this summer, along with wildfires in places that typically do not see them, such as the UK. — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026

So, Peyton and Eli run straight into a window, shattering the glass and parachuting out of the skyscraper. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026

In the 1950s and 1960s, the aerospace industry found eggshells’ resistance to shattering to be a useful model when conducting failure analysis studies of the metal shells used to build airplanes. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 8 Sep. 2026

Andrew Haigh is a master of restraint, a talent that he’s often weaponized against his own creations to beautiful and shattering effect. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026

Last year’s record-shattering monsoon season is heightening the urgency to invest in climate resilience. — Angelica Ang, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2026