as in disintegration
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as in deteriorating
to become worse or of less value
the stock of the energy company crumbled after the revelations of fraud and mismanagement
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Recent Examples of crumbling
David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
Additionally, decorations made of thin plastics, foam, or fabric don’t age well in hot attics, often melting, crumbling, or attracting pests.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Jan. 2026
However, the Facebook post specified that despite the building crumbling, business at The Singing Chef Cafe has been thriving.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Dec. 2025
The essay moves through three parts, from an opening scene of conflict to a middle section that narrates how Didion gradually grew to distrust police, and onto a last section that reflects on the crumbling of police authority and credibility.
—Literary Hub, 9 Dec. 2025
This familial crumbling due to politics is very present today.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 14 Nov. 2025
Caldwell will play a pivotal role as the Wolves and Lynx explore a new arena, search for solutions to the league-wide crumbling of regional sports television networks and try to maximize revenue streams.
—Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 Feb. 2026
With increasing pressure on its energy systems, Cuba is crumbling as energy blackouts throughout the nation have significantly affected its vital tourism industry, food supply and prices, and public and personal transportation.
—Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 14 Feb. 2026
The biggest challenge is the widening gap between our state’s massive wealth and our crumbling infrastructure.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
For the spring Talladega race weekend, Jack Link’s was one of Legacy’s primary sponsors, compelling Ha to incorporate beef snacks into her menu by crumbling them atop grits.
—Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026
Harkening back to the out-of-this-world aesthetics that won them broad acclaim for Poor Things, the commercial opens on a crumbling modernist edifice on a rocky outcrop in a stormy ocean.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Feb. 2026
On a clear day last September, Darius, an archaeologist, disappeared into a maze of crumbling stone corridors under the Amphitheater of Capua, the second-largest arena in antiquity after Rome’s Colosseum.
—Erica Firpo, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
With ceilings crumbling and utilities failing, residents are looking to the courts to intervene.
—Elle McLogan, CBS News, 7 Feb. 2026
Louvre Museum tightens security measures News of the robbery shocked the world and sparked criticism over the museum's inadequate security and crumbling infrastructure.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
Noun
Leveling threats of tariffs on adversaries and allies alike has been relatively easy, but the result has been a weakening of the economy and American trade ties, and a crumbling of the old global-trade system.
—David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
Additionally, decorations made of thin plastics, foam, or fabric don’t age well in hot attics, often melting, crumbling, or attracting pests.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Jan. 2026
However, the Facebook post specified that despite the building crumbling, business at The Singing Chef Cafe has been thriving.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Dec. 2025
The essay moves through three parts, from an opening scene of conflict to a middle section that narrates how Didion gradually grew to distrust police, and onto a last section that reflects on the crumbling of police authority and credibility.
—Literary Hub, 9 Dec. 2025
This familial crumbling due to politics is very present today.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 14 Nov. 2025
Caldwell will play a pivotal role as the Wolves and Lynx explore a new arena, search for solutions to the league-wide crumbling of regional sports television networks and try to maximize revenue streams.
—Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
Verb
When a production crew arrives to film an alien invasion movie on the crumbling backlot, the janitor decides to vanish alongside the studio itself.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 Feb. 2026
With increasing pressure on its energy systems, Cuba is crumbling as energy blackouts throughout the nation have significantly affected its vital tourism industry, food supply and prices, and public and personal transportation.
—Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 14 Feb. 2026
The biggest challenge is the widening gap between our state’s massive wealth and our crumbling infrastructure.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
For the spring Talladega race weekend, Jack Link’s was one of Legacy’s primary sponsors, compelling Ha to incorporate beef snacks into her menu by crumbling them atop grits.
—Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026
Harkening back to the out-of-this-world aesthetics that won them broad acclaim for Poor Things, the commercial opens on a crumbling modernist edifice on a rocky outcrop in a stormy ocean.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Feb. 2026
On a clear day last September, Darius, an archaeologist, disappeared into a maze of crumbling stone corridors under the Amphitheater of Capua, the second-largest arena in antiquity after Rome’s Colosseum.
—Erica Firpo, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
With ceilings crumbling and utilities failing, residents are looking to the courts to intervene.
—Elle McLogan, CBS News, 7 Feb. 2026
Louvre Museum tightens security measures News of the robbery shocked the world and sparked criticism over the museum's inadequate security and crumbling infrastructure.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crumbling
Noun
-
The end of that conflict followed the people’s dismantling of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the reunification of Germany and finally the disintegration in 1991 of the Soviet Union.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Such a disintegration seems implausible for this iteration of Spurs under Ho, a project that seems to have finally evolved from its mushy underbelly into a clear and steadfast vision.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Meanwhile, the situation on the island is deteriorating quickly.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
17 Feb. 2026
-
The latest round of talks also come in the aftermath of a major anti-regime uprising in Iran, in which protests -- initially sparked by the deteriorating economic conditions inside the country -- spread nationwide.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
International airlines are suspending flights to Cuba as the nation continues to face a worsening fuel shortage.—
Jessica Puckett,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Poor and minority communities face worsening health risks including cancer, asthma and extreme heat exposure from industrial facilities and climate change impacts.—
Dorany Pineda,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
New York might be painfully cold, but that hasn’t stopped the fashion pack from dressing up and descending on the city’s icy thoroughfares.—
Jacqueline Kilikita,
Refinery29,
12 Feb. 2026
-
Helen could already picture Jeanne’s students descending with their parents.—
Allegra Goodman,
Literary Hub,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Trump has broken with custom by declining to invite all governors to the traditional White House meeting and dinner.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Today, magnet programs have become a general recruitment strategy in a school system with declining enrollment.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crumbling. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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