Synonyms of shipwrecks

shipwrecks 1 of 2

noun

plural of shipwreck

as in disasters

something that has failed

finally admitted that their marriage was a shipwreck and that the time had come to bail out

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disasters
• failures
• catastrophes
• disappointments
• bombs
• busts
• losers
• washouts
• frosts
• lemons
• flops
• fiascoes
• misses
• debacles
• duds
• clinkers
• turkeys
• messes
• clunkers
• dogs
• bummers
• fizzles
• hashes
• shambles
• has-beens
• near misses
• botches
• nonevents
• also-rans
• muddles
• nonstarters

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• successes
• hits
• winners
• blockbusters
• phenomena
• smashes
• dandies
• corkers
• crackerjacks
• jim-dandies

shipwrecks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of shipwreck

as in wrecks

to cause irreparable damage to (a ship) by running aground or sinking

the yachtsman fell asleep at the wheel and shipwrecked his ketch on the rocks

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wrecks
• beaches
• scuttles
• strands
• founders

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• recovers
• salvages

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shipwrecks

Noun

Hundreds of shipwrecks are believed to have happened in the notorious strait since the 19th century. — Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Record-low water levels along the Danube River have exposed dozens of German military shipwrecks near the Serbian town of Prahovo, where an estimated 200 vessels were deliberately scuttled by retreating Nazi forces in 1944. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026

After all, their legacy consorting with carnies and flimflammers is less marketable than a tale of mother and daughter reuniting after surviving back-to-back shipwrecks. — Claire Carusillo, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026

In fact, during storms and shipwrecks, shipping containers regularly go overboard. — Alexander Klose, Scientific American, 24 July 2026

During the many scenes of roiling seas and inevitable shipwrecks, the shaking met the action appropriately. — Matt Minton, Variety, 22 July 2026

But the story about the war hero Odysseus, whose journey home with his men is beset by sea storms, shipwrecks, gods, monsters and shady ladies, set the template for literature, comic books, science fiction and Hollywood epics for centuries to come. — Jim Beckerman, USA Today, 16 July 2026

Keep your eyes peeled for the famous herd of Banker horses, thought to be descended from those that survived Spanish shipwrecks 500 years ago. — Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 16 July 2026

For centuries, the only wood suitable for building houses on the island was the driftwood that washed up from shipwrecks and distant forests. — Amelia Soth, JSTOR Daily, 15 July 2026

Verb

In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, young boys gradually become feral and sadistic when trapped on an island together, and in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero magically shipwrecks his brother and his allies so that they will all be exiled together under his watch. — Literary Hub, 11 May 2026