Synonyms of collapses

collapses 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of collapse

1

as in tumbles

to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure

the motel balcony collapsed under the weight of so many people

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tumbles
• goes
• crumples
• dies
• melts
• crumbles
• shatters
• gives
• implodes
• yields
• buckles
• crashes
• goes out
• fails
• breaks
• gives way
• founders
• flattens
• bursts
• pops
• smashes
• snaps
• cracks
• splits
• caves (in)
• deflates
• stalls
• breaks down
• melts down
• gives out
• splinters
• conks (out)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rises
• swells
• inflates

2

as in fails

to be unsuccessful

the legal case collapsed in the face of the opposition's evidence

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fails
• flops
• folds
• misses
• struggles
• bombs
• flunks
• tanks
• falls short
• strikes out
• falls flat
• declines
• comes to grief
• flames out
• lays an egg
• comes up empty
• crashes
• founders
• craters
• crumbles
• comes a cropper
• washes out
• slumps
• dies on the vine
• slips
• flounders
• falls on one's face
• wanes
• implodes
• skids
• miscarries
• sinks
• misfires
• goes under
• self-destructs

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• goes
• succeeds
• delivers
• works out
• comes off
• clicks
• goes over
• thrives
• flourishes
• prevails
• cooks
• wins
• pans out
• prospers
• triumphs

3

as in compresses

to reduce in size or volume by or as if by pressing parts or members together

the novel collapses events from four separate trips into one long odyssey

Synonyms & Similar Words

• compresses
• condenses
• squeezes
• consolidates
• constricts
• packs
• narrows (down)
• crams
• simplifies
• compacts
• contracts
• capsules
• constringes
• telescopes
• capsulizes
• shortens
• shrinks
• decreases
• curtails
• downsizes
• abbreviates
• jams
• boils down
• abridges
• diminishes
• jam-packs
• crowds
• streamlines
• concentrates
• lessens

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• expands
• opens
• decompresses
• dissipates
• disperses
• dilates
• scatters
• outstretches
• inflates
• swells
• outspreads
• distends

collapses

2 of 2

noun

plural of collapse

as in defeats

a falling short of one's goals

the complete collapse of the invasion set off a round of finger-pointing and recrimination

Synonyms & Similar Words

• defeats
• failures
• crashes
• fizzles
• setbacks
• croppers
• nonsuccesses
• nonachievements
• futilities
• deficiencies
• disappointments
• inadequacies
• insufficiencies
• ineffectualities
• inefficacies
• letdowns

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• achievements
• successes
• accomplishments
• victories
• wins

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of collapses

Verb

When a star dies and collapses, its mass is concentrated into an unimaginably dense point. —Quanta Magazine, 3 June 2026

Stephon Castle, Julian Champagnie and Dylan Harper need to hit their open threes as the Knicks' defense collapses. —David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 3 June 2026

Understanding how those filaments emerge is key to understanding how gas accumulates and ultimately collapses into new stars. —Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 1 June 2026

Photograph it, and this shimmer collapses into one angle, one exposure, one compromise. —Douglas Goodwin, The Conversation, 1 June 2026

In practice, the model collapses under three weights. —David Talby, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026

In the biblical account, the project collapses as the world’s common language is scattered into many diverse ones. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 30 May 2026

Shange’s rainbow assemblage manages to be confrontational and conciliatory through a confessional accumulation that collapses poetry, movement, and ritual into a single and ever-changing event. —Literary Hub, 29 May 2026

The other satellite system, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), typically uses radar imaging to continually map and track changes across the Earth’s surface, including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and ice sheet collapses. —Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 27 May 2026

Noun

The results mark one of the sharpest polling collapses of any modern president. —Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026

The robot stops, availability collapses and trust erodes. —John Wall, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026

After weeks of stamping an identity of defensive toughness, the Sky are hemorrhaging losses as a result of defensive collapses. —Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2026

There were a couple of fourth-quarter collapses — Game 1 in the conference finals was just the worst of them. —Joe Vardon, New York Times, 26 May 2026

Its teams in 2007-08, 2013-14 and 2022-23 were in first place for long stretches of the season, only for late collapses to allow the title to slip away. —Andrew Greif, NBC news, 19 May 2026

Meanwhile, as trust in journalism collapses and most of the actual reporting disappears behind paywalls, readers head straight for the comment sections, which seem more like the voice of the people than anything written by a reporter — except many of those commenters may not be people at all. —Lane Brown, Vulture, 15 May 2026

When it’s damaged, motivation collapses and avoidance follows. —Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, Fortune, 13 May 2026

Word of Olena’s infirmary spread throughout Mariupol’s central district, and locals caught in shellings and crossfire and building collapses came to seek her out. —James Verini, The Atlantic, 12 May 2026