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

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

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 SoCal’s housing market growth SpaceX’s record-shattering IPO has unleashed a wave of high-end home shoppers poised to reshape Southern California’s already tight coastal housing markets. — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026 At the very least, the attacks have brought the war home even more poignantly for millions of Russians, shattering Putin’s narrative of the conflict as something that doesn’t affect the lives of ordinary people in his country. — ABC News, 4 July 2026 Jackson had more confidence years later, when the duo recorded the record-shattering Thriller in only two months. — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 3 July 2026 Seconds later, a powerful explosion blasted through the doorway, shattering windows and sending vertical blinds and debris flying as firefighters quickly retreated from the building. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026 Secure windows and doors Securing your windows and doors helps block debris from shattering the glass. — Faith Wakefield, USA Today, 2 July 2026 Europe has endured two deadly, record-shattering heat waves in a matter of weeks, with a third on the way next week. — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 1 July 2026 Despite shattering her left leg at the race, the eight-time World Champion medalist and three-time Olympic medalist says she still may not be done with her sport. — Mariah Alanskas, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026 The owners had taped giant Xs across the windows to stop the regular explosions from shattering them. — Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 27 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shattering
  1. destroying
  2. smashing
  3. ruining
  4. demolishing
  5. devastating
  6. blowing
  7. wrecking
  8. exploding
Verb
  • After flying toward a naval target over the Black Sea, the aircraft launched one of the supersonic missiles from a stand-off distance exceeding 120 kilometers, successfully destroying its target.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 14 July 2026
  • Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigators are probing a destructive fire that ripped through a Sun Valley strip mall early Sunday morning, destroying a beloved family-run market.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 14 July 2026
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • Stacking layers like a gourmet burger is the secret behind smashing efficiency and stability records.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 9 July 2026
  • Djokovic became so frustrated that he was given a code violation warning for smashing a racket, before eventually hauling himself over the line.
    — Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of smashing
Verb
  • Plus, one of the biggest things that holds people back from DIY is a fear of ruining their home, but that’s virtually impossible with peel-and-stick wallpaper.
    — Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 13 July 2026
  • Clothes moths are indoor pests notorious for ruining the best threads in any closet.
    — Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 July 2026
Definition of ruining
Verb
  • Beyond the environmental costs, demolishing and hauling away the remnants of huge buildings is especially expensive in dense cities such as New York.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 July 2026
  • This project, which is under review by the city, proposes demolishing the long-defunct Kmart building and bringing residences, shops and a new Publix to the plaza.
    — Abigail Hasebroock, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026
Definition of demolishing
Verb
  • Rescue efforts were still underway nearly two weeks after devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast less than a minute apart on June 24, trapping hundreds beneath rubble.
    — Pat Mueller, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • The co-writer thing was a total disaster, devastating on every level.
    — Daniela Avila, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026
Definition of devastating
Verb
  • Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.
    — CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2026
  • The ripe salt-sea smell, raw and delicious and foul, that rose up from the platform and haunted the marsh for miles around, was today tamped down by the freshwater air blowing down from the north.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026
Definition of blowing
Verb
  • Long-distance backpacking is having a moment, and readers planning a first thru-hike want to know how to prepare without wrecking their body, their gear budget or their trip.
    — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 July 2026
  • Most of the peril comes with dangerous ship-wrecking moments, including one that implies the death of Moana's relative, while our heroine herself almost drowns on her first voyage from land.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 9 July 2026
Definition of wrecking
Verb
  • Instead, the forward now picks his moments, strolling around the pitch to find space and then exploding into action.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
  • In late May, about 50,000 people in Orange County were evacuated because, at a Garden Grove site operated by GKN Aerospace, tanks holding a volatile hazardous chemical called methyl methacrylate were at risk of exploding or leaking toxics.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
Definition of exploding

Browse Nearby Words

shattered
shattering
shatters
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shattering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shattering. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on shattering

Nglish: Translation of shattering for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 17
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All