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
Maia Pandey, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2025
However, when a shipwreck strands them on a deserted island, Annie discovers Chopper is a fraud and knows nothing about survival, leaving her in charge of figuring out how to keep them alive.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 21 Aug. 2025
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 June 2025
The 18th-century vessels were shipwrecked in 1710, and archaeologists only recently discovered that the ships – long believed to be pirate ships – were used to transport slaves.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for shipwreck
Noun
To learn more about the shipwreck, see reporting from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Green Bay Press-Gazette.
—Maia Pandey, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2025
However, when a shipwreck strands them on a deserted island, Annie discovers Chopper is a fraud and knows nothing about survival, leaving her in charge of figuring out how to keep them alive.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 21 Aug. 2025
Verb
The other half is dedicated to the Delgado family — patriarch Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), precocious Isabella (Audrina Miranda), teenager Teresa (Luna Blaise), and her boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono) — who end up shipwrecked after a dino encounter.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 June 2025
The 18th-century vessels were shipwrecked in 1710, and archaeologists only recently discovered that the ships – long believed to be pirate ships – were used to transport slaves.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for shipwreck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shipwreck
Noun
-
The wrecking begins when Carey (Marvin), Paul’s best friend, ill-advisedly sleeps with Julie—and then, more ill-advisedly still, confesses it to Paul the next day.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Recently published studies about people affected by the Maui and Los Angeles fires showed that beyond affecting heart and lung function and interrupting access to medical care, these climate disasters have led to higher rates of depression and even suicide.—
Lahari Vuppaladhadiam,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
-
As someone who evacuated but was still directly impacted by the storm, Shepard used her lived experience to influence her research on colonial disasters.—
Essence,
Essence,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Jerry Jeudy makes far too much money to wreck possessions with two drops, one that killed a drive and another that resulted in a crushing interception.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The sophomore, who is the youngest player ever voted captain under coach Jay Norvell, was a one-man wrecking crew against the Huskies with a game-high 13 tackles.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In another instance, the museum spotlights a story about an unplanned sinking of the Orca, when a production boat that was pulling the onscreen boat went too fast and yanked out the Orca’s planking.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Research published in 2008 links the seismic activity to a slab of oceanic crust sinking into Earth’s mantle.—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In May 2018, one of the funicular’s cars derailed due to a serious maintenance failure of its wheels, although the car did not overturn and no one was injured, according to Público, a Portuguese daily national newspaper.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
-
An incident report submitted to the state by Energy Transfer attributed the pipeline failure to a technician’s errors.—
ProPublica,
ProPublica,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shipwreck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shipwreck. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share