The word 破灭 is a compound formed by combining two characters, each contributing its semantic meaning to create a metaphorical whole: 破 (pò), meaning "to break, split, or destroy", and 灭 (miè), meaning "to extinguish, to die out, or to vanish". Together, they create a vivid image of something being shattered and then completely extinguished, moving from a literal sense of physical destruction to an abstract concept. It is most commonly used to describe the collapse of intangible things like hopes, dreams, illusions, or fantasies, conveying a sense of total and irreversible dissolution, as if a bubble has burst and left nothing behind.