Synonyms of collapsing

collapsing 1 of 2

adjective

as in failing

Related Words

• failing
• folding
• flopping
• slipping
• washing-out
• declining
• slumping
• flunking
• waning
• futureless
• bankrupt
• inauspicious
• destroyed
• no-good
• unpromising
• unsuccessful
• hopeless
• ruined
• failed
• wrecked
• kerflooey
• kaput

Dissimilar Words

• successful
• going
• thriving
• flourishing
• triumphant
• prosperous
• coming
• promising
• growing
• booming
• palmy
• robust
• roaring

collapsing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of collapse

1

as in crumpling

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

• crumpling
• tumbling
• going
• buckling
• crumbling
• dying
• melting
• shattering
• imploding
• giving
• yielding
• crashing
• foundering
• going out
• giving way
• bursting
• breaking
• failing
• flattening
• caving (in)
• snapping
• cracking
• smashing
• popping
• deflating
• splitting
• stalling
• splintering
• giving out
• melting down
• breaking down
• conking (out)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rising
• swelling
• inflating

2

as in flopping

to be unsuccessful

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• failing
• flopping
• folding
• struggling
• missing
• bombing
• foundering
• striking out
• cratering
• flunking
• tanking
• declining
• crashing
• falling short
• falling flat
• coming up empty
• dying on the vine
• flaming out
• crumbling
• laying an egg
• coming to grief
• slipping
• washing out
• slumping
• floundering
• falling on one's face
• skidding
• coming a cropper
• sinking
• imploding
• waning
• misfiring
• miscarrying
• going under
• self-destructing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• succeeding
• going
• delivering
• clicking
• working out
• coming off
• going over
• thriving
• flourishing
• prospering
• cooking
• prevailing
• winning
• panning out
• triumphing

3

as in compressing

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

• compressing
• squeezing
• condensing
• consolidating
• packing
• contracting
• constricting
• compacting
• telescoping
• narrowing (down)
• cramming
• simplifying
• constringing
• capsulizing
• capsuling
• shrinking
• crowding
• shortening
• decreasing
• downsizing
• jamming
• curtailing
• diminishing
• abridging
• jam-packing
• concentrating
• streamlining
• abbreviating
• boiling down
• lessening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• expanding
• opening
• dissipating
• dispersing
• scattering
• decompressing
• dilating
• swelling
• outspreading
• outstretching
• inflating
• distending

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of collapsing

Verb

She’d previously been diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a condition that can be brought on by overexertion, after collapsing from lower-body cramping and temporary leg paralysis during a 2025 playoff series against the Las Vegas Aces. — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026

One that is visibly collapsing under the weight of its scared cows. — Aparna Rae, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

The video shows the peacock, referred to by some in the neighborhood as Sugar, seemingly flopping around then collapsing. — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026

Even as the old aid architecture is collapsing, the faith economy is not. — Alaa Murabit, STAT, 20 Aug. 2026

Trump’s popularity is also collapsing among Americans as a whole. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026

On that terrible day, millions of Americans witnessed airplanes flying into buildings, people jumping off skyscrapers, and the Twin Towers collapsing with thousands of innocents inside. — Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Scientists have discovered that copper melts gradually rather than collapsing all at once under extreme heat. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026

Videos posted to social media showed buildings collapsing and panicked residents running and screaming, as dust filled the sky. — Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026