pulverizing

verb

present participle of pulverize
1
as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of buildings pulverized by a killer tornado

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grinding
to reduce to fine particles pulverize the cement into dust for reuse

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 pulverizing Portions of its skeleton featured pulverizing bite marks and missing chunks that all bore the hallmark signs of another predatory attack. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 29 July 2026 The garbanzos are sometimes roasted before pulverizing, lending the yellow powder a richer, nuttier taste. — Randi Gollin, Martha Stewart, 25 June 2026 But the biggest beef to be had is in Sarnoski’s insistence to bludgeon us with pulverizing violence, which grows tiresome and repetitive in the carnage-spewing initial 30 minutes. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 18 June 2026 No previous American leader could plausibly have presided over the scene of a tattooed Brazilian fighter in a black cowboy hat and Lycra shorts running out of the White House, saluted by honor guards, with the intent of pulverizing another human being. — Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026 Among other curiosities were Matthew Howard and Joseph Pereira cheerfully pulverizing Philip Glass’ Fantasy Concerto for Two Timpanists and Orchestra, as well as Boris Allakhverdyan suavely ghosting jazz legend Artie Shaw in his Clarinet Concerto. — Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026 The war film is also his sweetest, most tender effort to date, surprising given his penchant for emotionally pulverizing twists and turns. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026 After pulverizing Gaza so relentlessly that a country founded in the shadow of the Holocaust was judged by experts as complicit in genocide, Israel’s military and intelligence apparatus also struck out elsewhere—Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, Syria. — Karl Vick, Time, 11 Oct. 2025 According to a new study, this effect is gradually pulverizing the asteroids that make up the belt. — Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulverizing
  1. destroying
  2. grinding
  3. demolishing
  4. crushing
  5. shattering
  6. pounding
  7. ruining
  8. beating
Verb
  • Gen gets to bust out her flapper dress only to witness the most horrific, awful, potentially career-destroying failure … the caviar, oysters, and bread are all crowded onto the bread plate.
    — Emma Soren, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The three were accused of destroying property of value less than $1,000.
    — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • The banking business model is built atop an army of young analysts (and, in time, associates and VPs) grinding through deals.
    — Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Every woman, child, and man alive was out here grinding all day every day except on Lincoln’s Birthday in death-trap packing plants controlled by a five-man syndicate called the Beef Trust.
    — Claire Carusillo, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of grinding
Verb
  • Despite being identified decades ago, the exact trigger of the joint-demolishing condition is still unclear.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026
  • At least one person was arrested for trespassing in connection with an earlier protest to stop contractors from demolishing the other trees.
    — Michael Loria, USA Today, 30 July 2026
Definition of demolishing
Verb
  • The reason is that protesters fear that the Republic of Georgia will continue following an authoritarian path similar to Russia’s, crushing their hopes and dreams of being another Western-style democracy that is a member of NATO and the EU.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Because what action fan doesn't appreciate a good catapult crushing?
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of crushing
Verb
  • With each passing episode of its second season, Sugar has been leading its title character to the same mind-and-spirit-shattering dilemma.
    — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Water levels in Budapest sunk to 4 inches Monday, shattering the previous record low of 13 inches set in 2018, according to the Associated Press.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of shattering
Verb
  • Keeber’s eldest son is still pounding the pavement looking for work as employers pull back entry-level hiring.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Video captured by a tourist on board a boat in northern Botswana showed the heart-pounding moment the vessel had to outrun a charging hippo.
    — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of pounding
Verb
  • Picking produce early also prevents wildlife like squirrels and raccoons from ruining your harvests.
    — Emily Hayes, Martha Stewart, 6 Aug. 2026
  • But therein lies the problem with ruining baseball and predicting the World Series in August.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of ruining
Verb
  • Even had Guardiola stayed on, City would probably be playing a more direct brand of football next season, with players more suited to beating a man and covering ground than playing a thousand million passes.
    — Sam Lee, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026
  • He was initially handed a 3 1/2-year sentence in 2022 when he was convicted of beating a police officer after being taken off a train for causing a disturbance.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of beating

Browse Nearby Words

pulverizes
pulverizing
puma
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pulverizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pulverizing. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on pulverizing

Nglish: Translation of pulverizing 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

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

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?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
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
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All