as in disasters
something that has failed
finally admitted that their marriage was a shipwreck and that the time had come to bail out
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Recent Examples of shipwrecks
Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 19 Feb. 2026
The museum and the Cleveland Underwater Explorers have been locating and identifying shipwrecks in Lake Erie since 2001.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
Shipwreck World, a group that works to locate shipwrecks around the globe, announced the find last week, crediting a team led by Illinois shipwreck hunter Paul Ehorn.
—Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 16 Feb. 2026
Shipwreck World, a group that works to locate shipwrecks around the globe, announced Friday that a team led by Illinois shipwreck hunter Paul Ehorn found the Lac La Belle about 20 miles (32 kilometers) offshore between Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin, in October 2022.
—Chicago Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026
Reuters — Fifteen migrants died after their boat collided with a coast guard vessel, capsized and sank off the Greek island of Chios in the Aegean Sea late on Tuesday, the Greek coast guard said, in one of Greece’s worst shipwrecks in years.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026
For Dooley, who had dedicated his professional life to finding shipwrecks, Carisub was the only game in town.
—Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
Scale the 97 steps of the Cana Island Lighthouse for panoramic views, paddle along the rugged coast in search of shipwrecks, or head to Whitefish Dunes State Park for cliff jumping.
—Joie Probst, Midwest Living, 25 Jan. 2026
Hike windswept cliffs where shipwrecks whisper.
—Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
Noun
Divers and snorkelers weave through forests of giant kelp towers, encountering famously playful sea lions, neon fish, and even historic shipwrecks.
—Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 19 Feb. 2026
The museum and the Cleveland Underwater Explorers have been locating and identifying shipwrecks in Lake Erie since 2001.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
Shipwreck World, a group that works to locate shipwrecks around the globe, announced the find last week, crediting a team led by Illinois shipwreck hunter Paul Ehorn.
—Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 16 Feb. 2026
Shipwreck World, a group that works to locate shipwrecks around the globe, announced Friday that a team led by Illinois shipwreck hunter Paul Ehorn found the Lac La Belle about 20 miles (32 kilometers) offshore between Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin, in October 2022.
—Chicago Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026
Reuters — Fifteen migrants died after their boat collided with a coast guard vessel, capsized and sank off the Greek island of Chios in the Aegean Sea late on Tuesday, the Greek coast guard said, in one of Greece’s worst shipwrecks in years.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026
For Dooley, who had dedicated his professional life to finding shipwrecks, Carisub was the only game in town.
—Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
Scale the 97 steps of the Cana Island Lighthouse for panoramic views, paddle along the rugged coast in search of shipwrecks, or head to Whitefish Dunes State Park for cliff jumping.
—Joie Probst, Midwest Living, 25 Jan. 2026
Hike windswept cliffs where shipwrecks whisper.
—Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Verb
Two married sea-explorers are stranded, Gilligan-style, after a storm shipwrecks their craft.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shipwrecks
Noun
-
The next commissioner must prepare for more frequent disasters while managing long term coastal erosion.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The February 2021 freeze became one of the deadliest and costliest disasters in state history.—
Newsroom Meteorologist,
Houston Chronicle,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In a film like this, you’re ostensibly meant to root against the terror that the central characters wrecks on his victims.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
16 Jan. 2026
-
This process wrecks kidney and heart tissue, causing the heart to enlarge and blood vessels to become stiffer, impeding circulation and setting the stage for clots.—
Jyoti Madhusoodanan,
Scientific American,
16 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The city of Malibu sued the state and the city and county of Los Angeles and other entities on Wednesday, accusing them of various failures that led to the start and proliferation of the Palisades fire that destroyed hundreds of Malibu homes along with municipal facilities and infrastructure.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Federal regulators are shutting down more than 550 commercial driving schools nationwide after finding unqualified instructors, inadequate testing and other safety failures.—
Josh Funk,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
While Scarry’s books present such catastrophes with bright colors and good humor, Gomez undermines this cheer by superimposing on the mural a nearly all-black painting of a desolate tent encampment in front of a home destroyed by the Eaton fire.—
Sharon Mizota,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Kennedy has made no bones about his misplaced skepticism of mRNA vaccines, pinging off the proliferating conspiracies around the COVID vaccines — incredible innovations that saved countless lives during one of the worst global catastrophes in recent memory.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Losing a board game becomes a small, safe rehearsal for larger disappointments later in life.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Parents,
17 Feb. 2026
-
There is something disorienting about treading water as your date catalogues their personal disappointments, each one hitting like a splash from the diving board.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shipwrecks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shipwrecks. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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