Synonyms of cracking

cracking 1 of 3

adjective

ˈkra-kiŋ 

as in excellent

of the very best kind

a writer renowned for her cracking tales of mystery and suspense

Synonyms & Similar Words

• excellent
• great
• terrific
• superb
• wonderful
• lovely
• awesome
• fantastic
• stellar
• fabulous
• beautiful
• prime
• fine
• hot
• marvelous
• quality
• cool
• classic
• famous
• top
• topping
• swell
• slick
• neat
• sensational
• brave
• heavenly
• good
• splendid
• bumper
• divine
• sterling
• superior
• immense
• prize
• crackerjack
• keen
• par excellence
• banner
• choice
• first-rate
• grand
• first-class
• fab
• dynamite
• unsurpassed
• superlative
• exceptional
• top-notch
• down
• dope
• corking
• groovy
• gone
• high-class
• peachy
• boss
• out of this world
• top-shelf
• number one
• blue-ribbon
• tip-top
• decent
• frontline
• radical
• too much
• mean
• bang-up
• bully
• nifty
• dandy
• noble
• capital
• topflight
• out-of-sight
• blue-chip
• wizard
• first-string
• better
• gangbusters
• brag
• supernal
• A1
• primo
• prizewinning
• satisfactory
• hype
• fantabulous
• peachy keen
• righteous
• adequate
• special
• bonny
• acceptable
• A-OK
• boffo
• top-of-the-line
• phat
• numero uno
• five-star
• gilt-edged
• all right
• tolerable
• jim-dandy
• classical
• traditional
• passable
• four-star
• fancy
• OK
• premium
• high-grade
• select
• high-test
• standard
• superfine

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• poor
• terrible
• rotten
• awful
• pathetic
• lousy
• atrocious
• wretched
• vile
• bad
• inferior
• unsatisfactory
• substandard
• low-grade
• execrable
• mediocre
• middling
• second-class
• second-rate

cracking

2 of 3

adverb

as in extremely

to a great degree

tells a cracking good tale of a search for a lost city

Synonyms & Similar Words

• extremely
• very
• damn
• incredibly
• terribly
• damned
• too
• highly
• badly
• so
• really
• seriously
• severely
• jolly
• desperately
• super
• real
• full
• far
• especially
• that
• rattling
• greatly
• thumping
• whacking
• wildly
• heavily
• passing
• most
• bone
• roaring
• intensely
• much
• such
• mighty
• particularly
• fiercely
• good and
• exceptionally
• wicked
• extra
• specially
• awful
• way
• spanking
• absolutely
• sore
• corking
• dang
• fantastically
• immensely
• exceedingly
• awfully
• totally
• fabulously
• deadly
• hugely
• uncommonly
• thoroughly
• a lot
• completely
• monstrous
• remarkably
• achingly
• supremely
• vitally
• eminently
• frightfully
• almighty
• utterly
• enormously
• mortally
• sorely
• ever
• beastly
• roaringly
• stinking
• positively
• surpassingly
• archly
• as all get-out
• filthy
• blisteringly
• deeply
• majorly
• vastly
• right
• mightily
• significantly
• entirely
• colossally
• visibly
• noticeably
• unco
• considerably
• fully
• wholly
• downright
• flat-out
• substantially
• notably
• obviously
• radically
• purely
• profoundly
• extensively
• markedly
• palpably
• altogether
• discernibly
• appreciably
• plainly
• excessively
• monumentally
• plentifully
• obscenely
• astronomically
• astonishingly
• grandly
• abundantly
• amazingly
• monstrously
• staggeringly
• overmuch

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• little
• slightly
• somewhat
• nominally
• just
• negligibly
• barely
• hardly
• scarcely
• marginally
• minimally
• scantily
• meagerly

cracking

3 of 3

verb

present participle of crack

1

as in popping

to break suddenly with an explosive sound

the tree branch unexpectedly cracked under our weight

Synonyms & Similar Words

• popping
• snapping
• splitting
• crackling
• exploding
• shattering
• bursting
• hissing
• clicking
• sputtering
• rending
• clattering
• sizzling
• riving
• clacking

2

as in choking

to yield to mental or emotional stress

after hours of tough questioning the suspect finally cracked and blurted out a confession

Synonyms & Similar Words

• choking
• losing it
• melting down
• falling apart
• going to pieces
• flipping (out)
• freaking (out)
• wigging (out)
• breaking down
• breaking up
• going off the deep end
• blowing one's cool

3

as in deciphering

to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language

the United States military used the Navajo language as a code during World War II, and the enemy never cracked it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deciphering
• breaking
• decoding
• decrypting
• solving
• translating
• rendering
• unraveling
• working
• figuring out
• unscrambling
• working out
• descrambling
• doping (out)
• puzzling (out)
• unriddling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• coding
• encoding
• encrypting
• ciphering
• mixing (up)
• enciphering
• garbling
• jumbling (up)

4

as in knocking

to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner

cracked the bow of the ship with a champagne bottle

Synonyms & Similar Words

• knocking
• smacking
• slapping
• hitting
• banging
• slamming
• punching
• pounding
• clapping
• whacking
• striking
• clipping
• swiping
• kicking
• batting
• thumping
• hammering
• nailing
• tapping
• bashing
• poking
• licking
• pushing
• thwacking
• rapping
• shoving
• boxing
• bobbing
• busting
• flicking
• jabbing
• chopping
• swatting
• slugging
• clouting
• zapping
• tagging
• clobbering
• bopping
• socking
• smiting
• pasting
• clocking
• bludgeoning
• bumping
• bonking
• belting
• stabbing
• biffing
• slogging
• walloping
• stroking
• beating
• whaling
• battering
• scuffing
• pummeling
• stamping
• mangling
• mauling
• peppering
• hanging one on
• cuffing
• slashing
• pelting
• whipping
• buffeting
• lashing
• jostling
• dumping
• roughing
• butting
• bunging
• prodding
• lambasting
• drubbing
• decking
• lacing
• creaming
• sapping
• switching
• bunting
• kneeing
• felling
• pommeling
• flogging
• thrashing
• flailing
• spearing
• clubbing
• knocking down
• flooring
• bowling (down or over)
• leveling
• cudgeling
• caning
• sledgehammering
• sledging
• braining
• sucker punching
• conking
• skulling
• rabbit-punching
• beaning

5

as in solving

to find an answer for through reasoning

I've been mulling this riddle, but I just can't crack it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• solving
• unraveling
• answering
• resolving
• working
• deciphering
• breaking
• figuring out
• working out
• doping (out)
• puzzling (out)
• riddling (out)
• concluding
• deciding
• unriddling
• gathering
• reasoning
• deducing
• judging
• inferring
• guessing
• straightening (out)
• speculating
• untangling
• clearing (up)
• ironing out
• decoding
• assuming
• divining
• untying
• presuming
• conjecturing
• unscrambling

6

as in bothering

to cause to go insane or as if insane

cracked by years in solitary confinement, the prisoner could only maunder incoherently

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bothering
• crazing
• disturbing
• distracting
• unbalancing
• unhinging
• upsetting
• maddening
• unsettling
• annoying
• deranging
• confusing
• frenzying
• irritating
• locoing
• unstringing
• disquieting
• perturbing
• agitating
• discomposing
• vexing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• settling
• relaxing
• soothing
• calming
• quieting
• tranquilizing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of cracking

Adjective

The study published in the journal Construction and Building Materials also revealed that the triangular and wavy forms significantly enhanced the beam's ability to handle post-cracking stress. — New Atlas, 10 Apr. 2026

Another uninspired performance coupled with a a heavy defeat may well spell the end for the Basque manager at the Emirates, so this fixture should have plenty of undertones and be a cracking game of football. — SI.com, 28 Oct. 2019

His fortunes finally turned back Wednesday, when van Garderen laid down a cracking time trial at the Tour of California. — sacbee, 16 May 2018

Verb

Seeing a few chapters out of context is not going to deliver the same thrill as cracking open the new book and reading as the author intended. — Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 17 Oct. 2026

The researchers developed their fiber-optic system to detect acoustic emissions, or small vibrations produced when materials undergo changes such as cracking. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026

Coconut crabs are also equipped with two powerful pincers capable of cracking through the tough exterior of a coconut, according to London's Natural History Museum. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026

And while cracking open an iPod will never not be intimidating, at least the Sprout doesn’t require any soldering. — Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, 14 Oct. 2026

The longbow hunter stands behind a tree, picks up a stick and starts cracking logs and whipping brush. — Michael Hanback, Outdoor Life, 14 Oct. 2026

The filmmakers bill it as a film less about cracking a murder than about the ordinary days that come after a devastating loss. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026

The job even gets meta, with the British star cracking a joke about which nationalities are cast in best roles Hollywood has to offer Black talent. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 12 Oct. 2026

The wife of Cleveland football coach Mario Guzman, Elizabeth, is cracking 15 dozen eggs for Thanksgiving practice. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026

Phrases Containing cracking

• get cracking