Shamad (שָׁמַד) expresses utter, complete destruction — not partial damage but total elimination. It is used of the destruction of nations (Amos 2:9 — God destroyed the Amorite 'whose height was like the height of the cedars'), the threat of Israel's annihilation under curse (Deuteronomy 28:63), and the ultimate fate of the wicked. The Hiphil form means 'to destroy/annihilate' (cause to be destroyed).
The word appears frequently in Deuteronomy's covenant curse section: if Israel abandons God, He will 'destroy' (shamad) them from the land (Deuteronomy 28:63). The Psalms use it in imprecatory contexts: 'May all who are inclined to evil be cut off' (Psalm 37:38). But the same Deuteronomy that threatens destruction promises that God will not destroy Israel entirely — the remnant will remain. Amos 2:9 uses shamad for the Amorites' destruction to establish precedent: the God who destroyed Canaan's giants will judge Israel's sin with equal thoroughness. The NT equivalent is apollumi — 'to destroy/perish' (John 3:16 — 'should not perish but have eternal life').
Shamad is the vocabulary of final judgment — it is what is threatened against the covenant breaker and what will befall unrepentant wickedness at the last day. Its sober force should not be softened. Yet the same God who threatens shamad is the God who promises that His remnant will not be utterly destroyed (Amos 9:8 — 'I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob'). Total destruction is the consequence of total rejection of grace.