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 The video shows a customer walking out of Cinnaholic when the girls ride the scooter through the window, shattering the glass. — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026 Wednesday, which was forecast to be the hottest day of the heat wave, brought record-shattering temperatures across the Southland. — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026 In 1985, the director Kevin Sullivan produced, with primary funding from the Canadian Broadcasting Company and support from PBS, a record-shattering Anne miniseries. — Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026 The video obtained by the group NorCal Bodycam and shared with ABC7 Bay Area appears to show the operator asleep before the train crashes into the rear of another train ahead of it, shattering window glass. — ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026 Meanwhile, epidemiologist Susan Mayne said the government has responded slowly to the record-shattering outbreak that started in May, which demonstrates how the nation's federal food safety programs are in disarray. — Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 20 Aug. 2026 Majdi described his son’s birth in near-metaphysical terms, his own grief as shattering. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026 France was about to experience a record-shattering heat wave, with ninety-degree weather, in a time of year that, for as long as anyone can remember, has always been lovely and mild. — Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2026 In 2018 a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 fan blade snapped, shattering a window and sucking a woman’s head and torso outside of the plane. — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shattering

Verb

Demonstrators carrying Spanish flags moved toward beachside migrant camps last week, destroying shelters and setting fires as police attempted to keep protesters and migrants apart, according to Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE and news agency EFE.

— Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Several homeowners near Meta’s massive Newton County data center have filed a lawsuit accusing the tech company and others of tainting their water and destroying their rural way of life.

— Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of destroying

Verb

Bland said officers were dispatched after a 911 caller reported that Garcia had been walking down the street with a baseball bat, smashing car windows.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Nvidia guided for 70% revenue growth in fiscal-year 2028, smashing estimates of 40%.

— Benzinga, Freep.com, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of smashing

Verb

The Horned Frogs crushed the Tar Heels 48-14 in last year’s season opener at Chapel Hill, ruining the college coaching debut of six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick.

— Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2026
So, are invasives ruining the state’s waters, or is the state on the way to becoming the everyman’s Amazon, embraced by the folks who can’t afford the jungle lodge experience?

— Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of ruining

Verb

Mansfield Timberview signaled state-title ambitions by demolishing West Mesquite 69-7, while White Settlement Brewer knocked off Class 6A Haltom 31-14 to open Class 5A play.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Aug. 2026
While members of the public and the architectural community have criticized the Rike Tubes for altering the character of Tbilisi’s historic old town, some favored relocating them to a more suitable setting rather than demolishing them.

— Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of demolishing

Verb

Over 150 people have been killed and hundreds more are missing after devastating flash floods swept through the Himalayan region along the Nepal-Tibet border, officials from both countries confirmed Wednesday.

— Callum Sutherland, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
And that roads budget included the funding to take care of the existing roads, which would have been devastating ecologically and socially, because if these roads keep falling off the hillsides, then people can’t use them.

— Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of devastating

Verb

Its exterior is rich with symbolism, from stone carvings representing the all-seeing eye of God to a golden statue, atop the highest spire, of an angel blowing a trumpet to herald the Second Coming.

— Brandon Griggs, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
There is a micronation on a fortress at sea off the coast of Great Britain, and the British government once considered blowing it up.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of blowing

Verb

In a May interview on The Pivot Podcast, Davis blamed his opioid abuse for wrecking his home life.

— Joshua Goodman, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
The 1982-83 winter season, which coincided with a very strong El Niño, was historically destructive for California’s coast, with storms wrecking the Santa Monica and Seal Beach piers.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of wrecking

Verb

Octane measures how well fuel resists exploding prematurely under compression in a gasoline engine.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
In late 2023, the exploding popularity of these drugs caused shares of medical device companies like Insulet to plummet, fueled by the narrative that GLP-1s would eliminate the need for insulin.

— Harvey Stober, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of exploding

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“Shattering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shattering. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of shattering

verb

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