1
as in wrecking
the destruction or loss of a ship
the shipwreck of much of the Spanish Armada ended Spain's plans for invading England
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disaster
something that has failed
finally admitted that their marriage was a shipwreck and that the time had come to bail out
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 shipwreck
Katherine Lawless,
Travel + Leisure,
13 June 2026
Kenza, an orphaned child and the only survivor of a shipwreck is lost and in need of a mother.
—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
12 June 2026
The Know,
Denver Post,
15 Mar. 2026
Your host, Miranda, offers a back story to the project that involves her family of scientists being shipwrecked on an island off South America upon which many of the dinosaurs somehow survived to the present day.
—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
7 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shipwreck
Noun
This island chain is a popular weekend and summer destination for travelers who want to paddle through sea caves, lounge on picturesque beaches, and search for century-old shipwrecks.
—
Katherine Lawless,
Travel + Leisure,
13 June 2026
Kenza, an orphaned child and the only survivor of a shipwreck is lost and in need of a mother.
—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
12 June 2026
Verb
This reimagining of the classic tale of the white European male shipwrecked on a desert island is brave, funny, wild and spellbinding.
—
The Know,
Denver Post,
15 Mar. 2026
Your host, Miranda, offers a back story to the project that involves her family of scientists being shipwrecked on an island off South America upon which many of the dinosaurs somehow survived to the present day.
—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
7 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shipwreck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shipwreck
Noun
-
At least, there was a lot less wrecking.
-
The Ravens haven’t really had that game-wrecking pass rusher since Terrell Suggs was in his prime.
Noun
-
Aemond is a murderer, Aegon is a rapist; if either of them ends up on the Iron Throne for good, that would be a disaster.
-
On the dusty backroads of Radiator Springs, where Lightning McQueen and his pals live, a shower of meteors threatened to bring destruction upon the quarter-size cars in a scene that disaster movie king Roland Emmerich would endorse.
Verb
-
My polishing pads are always getting wrecked, used, or stolen by my dog (or all of those things).
-
As many little heartbeats as possible, just running around, wrecking stuff in the house.
Noun
-
Finding the wreck Official records detailing Hōfuku Maru’s sinking were incomplete and inconsistent, Beckensall said.
-
Actual sinking exercises provide valuable data on structural damage, flooding, shock effects, and sinking behaviour.
Noun
-
Days before the five-year anniversary of the 2021 building collapse that killed 98 people in Surfside, the federal government has published findings that determined the structure of the Champlain Towers South condominium started failing about three weeks before the catastrophe.
-
Chile introduced a tax deduction for catastrophe insurance premiums and resilience retrofit investment.
Noun
-
Taking the midway point of those numbers, an opening weekend of $45 million would be a monumental failure.
-
Then came this spring’s historic and devastating floods across northern Michigan — in some areas, for the first time anyone can remember — swamping homes, pushing dams to the brink of failure and washing out roadways.
Cite this Entry
“Shipwreck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shipwreck. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
