PULVERIZE Synonyms: 178 Similar and Opposite Words

pulverize

verb

ˈpəl-və-ˌrīz

Definition of pulverize

as in to destroy

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

as in to grind

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 pulverize Storms pulverized the southeast metro area with heavy rain and substantial hail. — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2026 Mortar and Pestle Step away from the cute portable blender or countertop blending beast, because the old-fashioned way to pulverize something is oftentimes best. — Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Martha Stewart, 30 July 2026 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 This would lead to massive deceleration forces that instantly pulverize standard tracking electronics, leaving search teams completely blind. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for pulverize

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulverize

Verb

Noguchi, Nakashima, and Amino were adults on February 19, 1942, when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which forced Japanese American families to quickly abandon or destroy their property and board trains to the holding centers.

— Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026
Refineries in Russia have been destroyed or damaged by drone attacks.

— Matt Egan, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of destroy

Verb

Hitler wanted more dead, but his early lightning victories—Poland beaten in weeks, France in forty days—had turned into a grinding nightmare for the Nazis.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
The Raunchiest Miley Cyrus shocked viewers by stripping down to a nude bikini top and briefs and grinding, twerking and thrusting on fellow performer Robin Thicke at the 2013 show in one of the raciest performances in MTV history.

— Kate Hogan, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of grind

Verb

And then the way the government dealt with them, which was to just demolish them, is also kind of prescient.

— Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2026
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attended the demolition and said Israeli authorities had demolished more than 10,000 structures built without permits over the past year and a half.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of demolish

Verb

This sees the star's core, with a mass between one and two times that of the sun, crush down to a width of around 12 miles (20 kilometers).

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Agrumato is a proprietary method of crushing whole ingredients with the olives to impart robust flavors.

— Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of crush

Verb

Still, the channel has always proven to be resilient — a veritable phoenix that keeps rising stronger and ever more creative after world-shattering events such as 9/11, the SARS outbreak and the 2008 world financial crisis.

— Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2026
Downtown Los Angeles broke a daily heat record Monday with the mercury reaching 104 degrees, shattering the previous record of 101 set in 1954 and tied in 1971.

— Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of shatter

Verb

Guadagnino has always been skilled in his choice of music (Sufjan Stevens’ alt-pop in Call Me by Your Name, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ pounding EDM in Challengers).

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Still The Hairy Ape is, in one sense, a long, furious solo — a man pounding his head against a piano while accompanied by the orchestra — and Beavers ably carries its weight through to the finale.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of pound

Verb

On Monday, workers hauled out a 200-pound piece of equipment that was ruined by the saltwater and sand carried in on the high tides.

— Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
So our goal is to learn how to maximize AI budgets, not ration them and ruin productivity gains.

— Konstantin Klyagin, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of ruin

Verb

Built along a verdant slope edging Bodrum’s Paradise Bay, this contemporary property offers hard-to-beat vistas.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
Hastert became a congressional candidate in 1986 and beat the Democrat with 52% of the vote, his smallest margin of victory in a congressional race.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of beat

Browse Nearby Words

pulsing

pulverize

pulverized

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Pulverize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pulverize. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of pulverize

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

inscrutable

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

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

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes