The judges pulverized the contestant's performance during the competition.

pulverized 是动词 pulverize 的过去式。pulverize 由词根 pulver（粉末）和动词后缀 -ize（使...化）组成，字面意思是"使变成粉末"。在这里用作比喻义，表示"彻底粉碎、完全否定"，形容评委对选手表现的严厉批评。