1
as in scrunching
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in collapsing
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crumpling
Verb
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Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse On March 26, a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, collapsing the bridge and killing six construction workers who were filling potholes on the span.—
Emily Shapiro,
ABC News,
26 Dec. 2024 -
This pre-dates the casual fashions that would take hold during the 1960s, eventually collapsing traditional dressiness by the 1970s, making Sumbariners and GMT Masters the thing to wear.—
Allen Farmelo,
Robb Report,
26 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The argument then escalated, and Forty hit him in the face with a beer bottle, pulled out a folding knife, and then charged at him.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
12 Apr. 2025
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The audience of seventy-five people—packed closely into white folding chairs at a community center just outside Boston—had come to learn how to spot undercover immigration agents.—
Julia Angwin,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Crumpling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crumpling. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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