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1. Physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination
   "a crushing rejection"; "bone-crushing"; "a crushing blow";
   - devastating

1. Forceful prevention; putting down by power or authority
   "the crushing of heresy";
   - suppression, quelling, stifling

1. Use force to compress, making out of normal shape or condition
   "crush an aluminium can";
   - squash, squelch, mash, squeeze, squidge [informal], squish [informal]
    
2. Dominate or subjugate by unjust use of one's authority and power
   "The government crushes political activists";
   - oppress, suppress
    
3. Come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
   - beat, beat out, shell, trounce, vanquish
    
4. Break into small pieces
   "The car crushed the toy"
    
5. Humiliate or depress completely
   "She was crushed by his refusal of her invitation";
   - smash
    
6. Hurt or bruise with a squashing force
   "crush a toe";
   - jam
    
7. Make ineffective
   "Martin Luther King tried to crush racial discrimination";
   - break down
    
8. Become injured, broken, or distorted by pressure
   "The plastic bottle crushed against the wall"

Derived forms: crushings

See also: destructive

Type of: abase, alter, bar, break, break up, bruise, chagrin, change, come apart, contuse, defeat, fall apart, fragment, fragmentise [Brit], fragmentize, get the better of, humble, humiliate, modify, mortify, overcome, press, prevention, separate, split up

Encyclopedia: Crushing