crumple

verb

ˈkrəm-pəl How to pronounce crumple (audio)
Definition of crumplenext
1
as in to scrunch
to create (as by crushing) an irregular mass of creases in crumpled the piece of paper and angrily threw it in the wastebasket

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to collapse
to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure the box crumpled when I accidentally dropped a brick on it

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 crumple At the scene, a white minivan lay on its side near the track, its front badly crumpled. — Reuters, NBC news, 26 May 2026 MacKinnon initially crumpled to the ice in pain after blocking the shot, briefly getting to one knee and clearing the puck out of the defensive zone before falling back to the ice. — Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 25 May 2026 Nearby, a different video shows her pink jacket crumpled on the sidewalk and a green purse. — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 12 May 2026 MacKinnon immediately dropped his stick and crumpled to the ice while covering his bleeding face with both hands. — Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 12 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for crumple
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crumple
  1. scrunch
  2. collapse
  3. fold
  4. tumble
  5. wrinkle
Verb
  • Improve Balance There’s also evidence that toe exercises, such as gripping your toes or scrunching a towel with your toes, can improve your balance.
    — Sarah Bence, Verywell Health, 7 July 2026
  • After a period of this training, the worms came to associate the light with the shock and scrunched their bodies in anticipation whenever the light flashed.
    — Claire L. Evans, Quanta Magazine, 5 June 2026
Definition of scrunch
Verb
  • Chuanjun warned that heavy rain and extreme weather conditions could put additional areas alongside the mountain near the initial landslide at risk of collapsing.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 19 July 2026
  • By the time his candidacy collapsed, the time required to mount an effective alternative had largely disappeared.
    — Michael Sonnenfeldt, Fortune, 19 July 2026
Definition of collapse
Verb
  • When Britain withdrew from the Gulf, Qatar declined to fold into the federation that became the United Arab Emirates and took independence alone in 1971, under Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali, before Hamad's branch of the family held power.
    — Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 18 July 2026
  • Rather than just trimming stems and plopping them in a vase, reflexing plays with the form of the flower by gently folding petals backwards to open up the bloom.
    — Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 18 July 2026
Definition of fold
Verb
  • Days after analysts at more than a dozen banks rolled out price targets that were almost uniformly bullish, the shares tumbled below their $135 IPO price for the first time, then kept falling toward $125.
    — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 18 July 2026
  • Last month, oil prices tumbled after the US and Iran agreed to a 60-day ceasefire and increasing numbers of ships were able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
    — Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
Definition of tumble
Verb
  • As gray and wrinkled as the bottom of a mummy’s foot, the Cyclops’ face is wonderfully askew, like he was stepped on by someone even bigger than him.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
  • Her husband wrinkled his forehead, momentarily, as if trying to place her.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026
Definition of wrinkle

Browse Nearby Words

crumping
crumple
crumpled
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Crumple.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crumple. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on crumple

Nglish: Translation of crumple for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of stalwart

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All