as in deteriorating
to become worse or of less value
the stock of the energy company crumbled after the revelations of fraud and mismanagement
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in disintegration
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crumbling
Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
Family Tree centers on three estranged siblings who reunite at Christmas to sell their crumbling childhood home only to discover that fixing the house might be the key to repairing their fractured family.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025
Finding Her Way Home Randy Oates never is able to land on the rockpile and instead sets me, Anya, Zach and Stryker down in marshland on the banks of Lake Patricia, near where Rob Worrell had found Michelle’s crumbling boot in 2021.
—Ted Katauskas, Outside, 23 Sep. 2025
Produced by Pallas Film and View Master Films, the movie follows a hen who, after escaping from a chicken farm, finds refuge in the courtyard of a crumbling restaurant.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2025
Earlier reports dating back to 2021 show that crumbling structures resulted in multiple instances of animals being found with debris like concrete in their stomachs.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 21 Sep. 2025
The twin bases of the American experiment in political pluralism—the fable about the United States as a land of immigrants and the reality of unchallenged global primacy—are simultaneously crumbling.
—Pankaj Mishra, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Today, however, that model is crumbling.
—Jose Luis Gonzalez Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
In just a few days, the central bank is expected to lower interest rates for the first time since December to shore up America’s crumbling labor market.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2025
Verb
Caldwell will play a pivotal role as the Wolves and Lynx explore a new arena, search for solutions to the league-wide crumbling of regional sports television networks and try to maximize revenue streams.
—Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
Noun
Sworn declarations by detainees filed in federal court and obtained by the Herald on condition of anonymity allege negligent medical care and crumbling infrastructure at GEO’s facility in Karnes, Texas.
—Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
Family Tree centers on three estranged siblings who reunite at Christmas to sell their crumbling childhood home only to discover that fixing the house might be the key to repairing their fractured family.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025
Finding Her Way Home Randy Oates never is able to land on the rockpile and instead sets me, Anya, Zach and Stryker down in marshland on the banks of Lake Patricia, near where Rob Worrell had found Michelle’s crumbling boot in 2021.
—Ted Katauskas, Outside, 23 Sep. 2025
Produced by Pallas Film and View Master Films, the movie follows a hen who, after escaping from a chicken farm, finds refuge in the courtyard of a crumbling restaurant.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2025
Earlier reports dating back to 2021 show that crumbling structures resulted in multiple instances of animals being found with debris like concrete in their stomachs.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 21 Sep. 2025
The twin bases of the American experiment in political pluralism—the fable about the United States as a land of immigrants and the reality of unchallenged global primacy—are simultaneously crumbling.
—Pankaj Mishra, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Today, however, that model is crumbling.
—Jose Luis Gonzalez Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
In just a few days, the central bank is expected to lower interest rates for the first time since December to shore up America’s crumbling labor market.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crumbling
Verb
-
The Fed last week lowered borrowing costs for the first time since December to prevent the labor market from deteriorating, according to Chair Jerome Powell in a post-meeting news conference.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Just getting back to fight again requires constant focus, and the cycle of death can be mentally deteriorating.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
For director and co-writer Justin Tipping, the key to expressing Cameron’s mental and physical disintegration was finding a visual language that combined two very different worlds.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
22 Sep. 2025
-
The pair went back and forth in story and live format until Owens brought up the recent disintegration of Kraus’s relationship with Bovee.—
Clare Malone,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Climate change is worsening the erosion of the island, contributing to both higher sea levels and more damaging storms.—
Julie Depenbrock,
NPR,
22 Sep. 2025
-
At the walkthrough, County Board Chair Marcelia Nicholson implored the federal government to recognize the importance of funding projects that move the needle toward renewable energy and away from worsening climate disasters across the country.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
While the enemies and level design, as well as the progression of the descending route is a clear inversion and iteration of the original, the second half of the game feels downright experimental.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
-
In Will There Ever Be Another You, the main character struggles with an illness similar to long COVID, descending into a state of debility and psychosis as readers experience the chaos of her unraveling life.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Since then, the administration has, while declining to publicly state its position as regime change, signaled clear interest in removing Maduro from power.—
Shelby Talcott,
semafor.com,
25 Sep. 2025
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Energy demands around the world are rising, and with the increasing impacts of climate change and the declining efficiency of existing infrastructure, the situation is likely to worsen.—
Lauren Giella,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crumbling. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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