1
as in scrunched
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 collapsed
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 crumpled
Barkov crumpled to the ice during the team’s first full preseason practice after minor contact Thursday.
—
Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, these Bormiolo Rocco glasses designed by Ross Lovegrove look like someone crumpled a regular rocks glass in their hand like a bad first draft.
—Emily Johnson, Architectural Digest, 18 Oct. 2025
Napkins were crumpled; plates were licked.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
The video also shows the Range Rover’s crumpled front end, while photos captured Baldwin outside his vehicle, making a phone call.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2025
His mother found him, crumpled on the floor of his acupuncture studio, in a pool of blood.
—Dateline Nbc, NBC news, 8 Oct. 2025
Of course Swift’s legion of devotees would scoff at the notion that their heroine was anything but a pop goddess, their very own Glinda the Good Witch sent to comfort with lyrical poetry and aid crumpled hearts.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
Diane pulled out a sheet from a stack of papers, and it was all crumpled up with the lyrics to the song.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 23 Sep. 2025
Cause of crash is being investigated Videos of the accident show the carriage toppled to its side and crashed into a building on the steep and narrow street, with parts of the streetcar crumpled.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 4 Sep. 2025
Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, these Bormiolo Rocco glasses designed by Ross Lovegrove look like someone crumpled a regular rocks glass in their hand like a bad first draft.
—Emily Johnson, Architectural Digest, 18 Oct. 2025
Napkins were crumpled; plates were licked.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
The video also shows the Range Rover’s crumpled front end, while photos captured Baldwin outside his vehicle, making a phone call.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2025
His mother found him, crumpled on the floor of his acupuncture studio, in a pool of blood.
—Dateline Nbc, NBC news, 8 Oct. 2025
Of course Swift’s legion of devotees would scoff at the notion that their heroine was anything but a pop goddess, their very own Glinda the Good Witch sent to comfort with lyrical poetry and aid crumpled hearts.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
Diane pulled out a sheet from a stack of papers, and it was all crumpled up with the lyrics to the song.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 23 Sep. 2025
Cause of crash is being investigated Videos of the accident show the carriage toppled to its side and crashed into a building on the steep and narrow street, with parts of the streetcar crumpled.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crumpled
Verb
-
Sheppard won’t have as scrunched a floor to run the offense.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
The cast scrunched out easily, leaving curls soft and natural-looking.—
Malia Griggs,
Glamour,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The sofa was so collapsed that getting up from it felt like core strength training.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
-
And then on Thursday, after most of the show had been written, a man collapsed in the Oval Office, generating an instantly meme-able photograph of the president staring into the camera, looking oblivious to efforts to revive the prone victim at stage left.—
Erik Adams,
The Atlantic,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The old, wrinkled one looks up at Helm’s mountain, at the sky above its summit.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Best Amazon Prime Day Storage & Organization Deals Keep the closets neat, the drawers organized, the spices in alphabetical order, and the bedding from getting wrinkled with these genius storage and organization hacks.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Its stock tumbled more than 11% this week after the company’s earnings report on Monday.—
Blair Bao,
CNBC,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The company’s shares, which have soared by more than 160% this year, tumbled by more than 8% despite the company’s quarterly results beating Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations.—
Steve Kopack,
NBC news,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The bill was eventually folded into an Appropriations bill and passed; the National Academies report came out in August 2025.—
Alana Semuels,
Time,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Finishes tolerably folded, right-side out.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crumpled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crumpled. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share