Synonyms of crumbling

crumbling 1 of 2

noun

as in disintegration

Related Words

• disintegration
• dissolution
• decay
• decomposition
• rot
• breakdown
• putrefaction
• spoilage
• corruption
• festering
• putrescence
• fermentation
• moldering
• souring
• curdling

Dissimilar Words

• growth
• maturation
• ripening

crumbling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of crumble

as in deteriorating

to become worse or of less value

the stock of the energy company crumbled after the revelations of fraud and mismanagement

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deteriorating
• worsening
• descending
• declining
• decaying
• rotting
• degenerating
• diminishing
• sinking
• ebbing
• devolving
• disintegrating
• weakening
• regressing
• atrophying
• retrograding
• sagging
• falling
• dwindling
• slipping
• going to pot
• decomposing
• waning
• receding
• going to seed
• moldering
• downsizing
• dilapidating
• putrefying
• degrading
• reducing
• souring
• undermining
• corrupting
• debilitating
• languishing
• spoiling
• drooping
• failing
• abating
• lagging
• lessening
• lowering
• wilting
• wasting (away)
• flagging
• running down
• breaking down
• de-escalating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• improving
• ameliorating
• upgrading
• strengthening
• bettering
• enhancing
• meliorating
• intensifying
• developing
• fortifying
• enriching
• heightening
• progressing
• proceeding
• advancing
• marching

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of crumbling

Noun

The rest of the world is watching the crumbling of America’s economic relationship with its closest trading partner, and an administration that is calling into question the sanctity of free trade agreements generally. — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 27 Aug. 2026

Biting into it feels tectonic, cracking and flaking and crumbling, the gravity of umami keeping it all together. — The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026

But advocates like VanDiver said the letters, alongside the crumbling of other programs like Temporary Protected Status and immigration application pauses, cause confusion and fear. — Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 15 Aug. 2026

Putin and his Kremlin oligarchs have confidently anticipated a crumbling of Western assistance for Ukraine. — Ihor N. Stelmach, Hartford Courant, 19 July 2026

There is so much discussion about the demise of literacy and the crumbling of the American education system. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 July 2026

The crumbling of Platner’s campaign forced a reckoning for his most loyal backers. — Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026

York said Republicans still need the president’s leadership in the midterm elections and cannot rely on the Democratic Party crumbling. — Britta Miller, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2026

If approved, the measure would take effect as soon as April 1, 2027, and would generate about $20 million annually to help pay for things such as replacing the crumbling, 100-year-old, concrete-and-steel approach ramp that provides the only access to the city’s iconic wooden pier. — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 June 2026

Verb

Transportation officials posted a video showing severe erosion jeopardizing the train tracks used by Metrolink in San Clemente, with strong ocean waves crashing on the tracks and sediment crumbling onto the rocks below. — Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Vigiano was assigned to NYPD Emergency Services Unit Truck 2 on 9/11 and was one of the first to rush into the crumbling World Trade Center complex. — Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026

Sweat gathered around Armando Lafita's brow as the 60-year-old pushed a cart through the crumbling buildings in Old Havana. — Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2026

Once a coaling station for ships of the British Empire sailing to India, Perim’s imperial past is still visible in its crumbling ruins. — Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026

Sweat gathered around Armando Lafita’s brow as the 60-year-old pushed a cart through the crumbling buildings in Old Havana. — ABC News, 9 Sep. 2026

This is a quietly devastating, expertly realized portrait of a crumbling mind. — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2026

About 70% of Florida’s reef is crumbling without enough living coral to rebuild what’s lost to erosion. — Nicolás Rivero, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026

The clean demarcations between recreation and reality necessary to protect his previous subjects come crumbling down in the face of a larger-than-life figure like Ryan. — Marshall Shaffer, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2026