CRUSHING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does crushing mean? 

• CRUSHING (noun)
  The noun CRUSHING has 1 sense:

1. forceful prevention; putting down by power or authority

  Familiarity information: CRUSHING used as a noun is very rare.

• CRUSHING (adjective)
  The adjective CRUSHING has 1 sense:

1. physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination

  Familiarity information: CRUSHING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CRUSHING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Forceful prevention; putting down by power or authority

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

crushing; quelling; stifling; suppression

Context example:

the stifling of all dissent

Hypernyms ("crushing" is a kind of...):

bar; prevention (the act of preventing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "crushing"):

crackdown (severely repressive actions)

Derivation:

crush (come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority)

• CRUSHING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination

Synonyms:

crushing; devastating

Context example:

bone-crushing

Similar:

destructive (causing destruction or much damage)

 Context examples 

I was struck a crushing, stunning blow, nowhere in particular and yet everywhere.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The liquid produced by squeezing or crushing a fruit or vegetable.

(Juice, NCI Thesaurus)

The liquid produced by squeezing or crushing fruit.

(Fruit Juice, NCI Thesaurus)

The planet, Gliese 3470 b (also known as GJ 3470 b), may be a cross between Earth and Neptune, with a large rocky core buried under a deep, crushing hydrogen-and-helium atmosphere.

(Atmosphere of Midsize Planet Revealed by Hubble, Spitzer, NASA)

It has a crushing carbon dioxide atmosphere 90 times as thick as Earth’s.

(NASA Climate Modeling Suggests Venus May Have Been Habitable, NASA)

He scraped furiously over a rock, bruised across a second, and struck a third with crushing force.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Let me say in a few words how the crushing blow fell upon us.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In crushing his passions he had well-nigh crushed himself.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This reproach of my dependence had become a vague sing-song in my ear: very painful and crushing, but only half intelligible.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

He was always so proud of the efficiency of his department, and this was a crushing blow.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)