Let's shred your wings into small pieces and throw them away.
Source: tatoeba (416843)
Shred
/ʃɹɛd/
Synonyms for "shred" (221 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (45)
Strong matches (66)
Related words (110)
powderpull apartpulverizeragrasherrayreduce to powderremnantrendribbandribbonscintillascoopscotch tapescrapscrunchscrupleshardshaveshaving
Show 47 more words
shiverskinslatsliceslipsliversmashsmidgensmithereensnacksnatchsnicksnipsnippetspeckspillspinsplinesplintersquashstitchstrakestrapstripstropstumpsuggestionsyllabletaeniatagtake aparttapetape measuretapelinetattertear aparttear to piecestear to tatterstear upthrow awayticker tapetittletracetrashtrituratewhitwhoop
Noun(32 words)
Adjective(3 words)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: abrade, active tearing, adhesive tape, atom, atomize.
- Sentence evidence is available for shred, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, derived_reverse, opengloss, wordnet, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "shred".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "shred"
Keep "shred" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "shred" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "shred", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "shred" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
17 entriesShowing 16 of 17 words.
More specific
9 entriesfabric shredpaper shredscant amountshred documentsshred evidenceshredded documentsshredded papertiny amounttrace amount
Collocations
12 entriesfabric shredfaint shredpaper shredshred confidential filesshred documentsshred evidenceshred lettuceshred of evidenceshred old recordsshred papershredded paperwood shred
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
5 entriesTranslations
25 translations across 18 languages.
Ancient Greek
1 entries- σπάραγμα noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Bulgarian
1 entries- парцалче noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Catalan
1 entries- tirella noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 碎布條 /碎布条 noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Czech
2 entries- cár noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
- útržek noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Dutch
1 entries- flard noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Finnish
2 entries- kaistale noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
- suikale noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
French
1 entries- lambeau noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Galician
2 entries- lambiza noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
- lambizo noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
German
1 entries- Lumpen noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Hebrew
1 entries- גֶּזֶר noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Latin
1 entries- segmen noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Māori
1 entries- ngaku noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Persian
1 entries- کراد noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Polish
1 entries- strzęp noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Russian
2 entries- клочо́к noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
- лоску́т noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Spanish
4 entries- brinza noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
- brizna noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
- tira noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
- triza noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Swedish
1 entries- remsa noun (a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip)
Sample sentences
47 total sentences available.
Tom and Mary were on the verge of diving, off the left edge of the sentence, in the infinite corpus, when they spotted underneath a shoal of hungry contributors, teeth out, ready to jump on them and shred their mistakes down to the last one.
Source: tatoeba (1077668)
The last shred of hope had vanished from her heart.
Source: tatoeba (2788861)
There wasn't a single shred of evidence.
Source: tatoeba (4493823)
Showing 4 of 47 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "shred"?
Closest matches include abrade, active tearing, adhesive tape, atom, atomize.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "shred"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.