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

Local media reported at least 22 people died in the delta nation of 170 million people in landslides and wall collapses over the last three days. — ABC News, 9 July 2026

In each case, the technology performs as designed, yet confidence in the outcome collapses. — Manish Gupta, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

In this new suspenseful mystery that’s also an examination of our country’s racial history, a girl comes of age in post–Civil War Virginia as Reconstruction collapses. — Shyla Watson, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026

Jacobs collapses the distance between the nation’s lofty ideals and its depraved slave regime. — Brian Delay, Mercury News, 4 July 2026

Corruption deepened, the economy entered one of the worst collapses in modern history, and a humanitarian crisis pushed close to a third of the population out of the country. — Tibisay Zea, Christian Science Monitor, 30 June 2026

By contrast, Roberts’s opinion in Slaughter collapses this distinction. — George Thomas, The Atlantic, 30 June 2026

Weakness, frostbite, and the early stages of hypothermia are obvious long before a reasonably fit person collapses. — William Finnegan, New Yorker, 29 June 2026

If a neutron star gets more massive and more dense, the forces that hold atoms together can finally surrender to gravity, and all the mass collapses inward. — Stephen Dikerby, The Conversation, 29 June 2026

Noun

The destruction extended beyond people; pets and stray animals were also buried in several building collapses, with many later pulled from the rubble. — Pat Mueller, USA Today, 7 July 2026

When petrochemicals, industrial chemicals, aluminum, and helium all become unreliable simultaneously, the math of lean manufacturing collapses. — Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Vibrations from earth-moving equipment could have triggered further collapses, possibly dooming Gil — and his would-be rescuers. — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026

In the modern universe, black holes form when the core of a massive star runs out of fuel and collapses. — Quanta Magazine, 2 July 2026

Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced. — CNN Money, 1 July 2026

First responders handled two rescues in 24 hours after workers were trapped in separate construction trench collapses in Oakland County, Michigan. — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 1 July 2026

Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced. — ABC News, 30 June 2026

More than 100 firefighters from several departments worked to fight the blaze overnight, and many had to retreat from the former factory to avoid collapses. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 27 June 2026