as in disintegration
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crumbling
Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
Frank’s crew rolls into the crumbling squat that is Colombian HQ, sporting body armor and flamethrowers.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025
That’s because rent freezes discourage housing construction, leading to scarcity, crumbling buildings and higher prices over time.
—Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 7 Nov. 2025
Boswell wasn’t crumbling quietly, scoring on both of its drives in the quarter.
—Jordan Neal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Nov. 2025
Facing some quickly crumbling opposition from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Prop 50 was instigated as a response to Trump’s desire to retain GOP control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms via surgical gerrymandering in Red States like Texas.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
Hearing the doctor’s words, Laura Dern felt the walls crumbling around her.
—Julie Jordan, PEOPLE, 3 Nov. 2025
The designer fixed up the kitchen, replacing the crumbling floor and ceiling, and installed a vintage stove from eBay.
—Wendy Goodman, Curbed, 1 Nov. 2025
In addition to rampant inflation, goods shortages, and a crumbling labor market, the liquid reserves held in Russia’s National Wealth Fund continue to decline precipitously, down to approximately $35 billion from $117 billion three years ago.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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
The ensuing 2022-23 season saw Rayo beat both Barca and Madrid when Spain’s big two came to their crumbling Estadio Vallecas.
—Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
Frank’s crew rolls into the crumbling squat that is Colombian HQ, sporting body armor and flamethrowers.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025
That’s because rent freezes discourage housing construction, leading to scarcity, crumbling buildings and higher prices over time.
—Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 7 Nov. 2025
Boswell wasn’t crumbling quietly, scoring on both of its drives in the quarter.
—Jordan Neal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Nov. 2025
Facing some quickly crumbling opposition from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Prop 50 was instigated as a response to Trump’s desire to retain GOP control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms via surgical gerrymandering in Red States like Texas.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
Hearing the doctor’s words, Laura Dern felt the walls crumbling around her.
—Julie Jordan, PEOPLE, 3 Nov. 2025
The designer fixed up the kitchen, replacing the crumbling floor and ceiling, and installed a vintage stove from eBay.
—Wendy Goodman, Curbed, 1 Nov. 2025
In addition to rampant inflation, goods shortages, and a crumbling labor market, the liquid reserves held in Russia’s National Wealth Fund continue to decline precipitously, down to approximately $35 billion from $117 billion three years ago.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crumbling
Noun
-
Moscow has not conducted a full nuclear warhead test since the disintegration of the Soviet Union.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Losing sight of this has meant that faculty haven’t been using all of the tools at their disposal to fight the disintegration of tenure-stream employment.—
Time,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In the last 28 years, Alaska's rural school districts have made close to 1,800 requests to the state for money to maintain and repair deteriorating schools, but only 14% of those requests have been approved.—
Emily Schwing,
NPR,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Fiserv attributed its slowing growth to Argentina’s deteriorating economic environment, as the country last year contributed 10 percentage points to Fiserv’s 16% organic growth rate.—
Pia Singh,
CNBC,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Concerns around valuations in the artificial intelligence trade, along with worsening consumer sentiment, put a dent in equities last week.—
Fred Imbert,
CNBC,
10 Nov. 2025
-
In adults and in children, taking too much melatonin can interfere with the body’s circadian rhythm, potentially worsening sleep or having other effects.—
Veronique Greenwood,
Time,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The trail stays level early on and crosses the road a couple of times before descending through a grove of Arizona cypress to a shallow drainage.—
Roger Naylor,
AZCentral.com,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The Senate’s negotiations on reopening the government are descending into another impasse.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Autophagy means detecting and removing cells that are declining in functional capacity and replacing them with new cells.—
Bryant Stamford,
Louisville Courier Journal,
6 Nov. 2025
-
However, Gallup's polling also shows declining support among Republicans.—
Jason Lemon,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crumbling. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share