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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of crumpling
The sixth inning also featured a frightening moment when Cleveland’s David Fry, squaring around to bunt, took a 99 mph fastball from Skubal off his face, crumpling to the dirt as Skubal reacted with distress.
—
Zack Meisel, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
Singh’s truck blocked both lanes of the northbound Turnpike, leading the Chrysler Town & Country minivan the three friends were riding in to slam into the semi’s 18-wheeler trailer, crumpling underneath it.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
Zack Meisel, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
Singh’s truck blocked both lanes of the northbound Turnpike, leading the Chrysler Town & Country minivan the three friends were riding in to slam into the semi’s 18-wheeler trailer, crumpling underneath it.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crumpling
Verb
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To re-create the style, Abramite recommends adding mousse to damp hair and blow-drying with a diffuser while scrunching for volume at the roots and expansion throughout.—
Marci Robin,
Allure,
9 Oct. 2025
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Pooling at the wrists, scrunching at the ankles, dragging on the ground — chalk these fashion challenges up to just another day in the life of this 5-foot shopping writer.—
Jamie Allison Sanders,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The rare, direct foreign intervention, which will take the form of a currency swap, is aimed at boosting a collapsing peso and calming market volatility ahead of Argentina’s midterm elections later this month.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
14 Oct. 2025
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Rising delinquency rates among other concerns, recently led to subprime auto lender Tricolor unexpectedly collapsing.—
Michael Wayland,
CNBC,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Watching Figure 03 in action, cleaning, folding laundry, or serving food, can be both fascinating and unsettling.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Oct. 2025
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The robots folding towels were the company’s previous model, the Figure 02, operating the same software that the Figure 03 will use.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The fountain, which resembles a tumbling mess of boxy concrete tubes, some nearly forty feet high, has long been controversial.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
16 Oct. 2025
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The zoo has also shared videos of him tumbling and playing.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Dokotoo Knit Turtleneck Sweater Chunky knits are typically more resistant to wrinkling, and this turtleneck is no exception.—
Genevieve Cepeda,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Oct. 2025
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Then there’s Vince Panaro, the main character of the season and weasel of all weasels, a man whose mere mention triggers noses wrinkling in distaste.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
27 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crumpling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crumpling. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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