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
Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
One of the largest shipwrecks in recent history, and the miracle is that although there was loss, there could have been so much more.
—Valentina Di Donato, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026
Fairies and gods and shipwrecks all conspire to put our players in the most exigent but also the most amusing circumstances.
—Literary Hub, 2 June 2026
Keep an eye out for bald eagles above and shipwrecks below.
—Charles Usher, Midwest Living, 26 May 2026
The latest trip was spurred by an underwater interview project proposed by Stanford University anthropologist Ayana Omilade Flewellen, who serves on the board of Diving With a Purpose, a Black scuba diving nonprofit dedicated to documenting slave shipwrecks.
—ABC News, 14 May 2026
Participants report profound emotional and spiritual connections during underwater visits and ancient libation ceremonies, as part of broader efforts to document slave shipwrecks and preserve Black history.
—Deepa Bharath, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
Researchers have found remains of the sailors, as well as artifacts from the shipwrecks.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 14 May 2026
The actual shipwrecks of the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror were not found until 2014 and 2016, respectively.
—ArsTechnica, 8 May 2026
Literary Hub, 11 May 2026
Noun
Organized by Healthy Seas, a foundation committed to removing marine litter and protecting life in oceans across the globe, the mission was part of a campaign centered on ghost-net removal and biodiversity monitoring on Mediterranean shipwrecks.
—Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
One of the largest shipwrecks in recent history, and the miracle is that although there was loss, there could have been so much more.
—Valentina Di Donato, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026
Fairies and gods and shipwrecks all conspire to put our players in the most exigent but also the most amusing circumstances.
—Literary Hub, 2 June 2026
Keep an eye out for bald eagles above and shipwrecks below.
—Charles Usher, Midwest Living, 26 May 2026
The latest trip was spurred by an underwater interview project proposed by Stanford University anthropologist Ayana Omilade Flewellen, who serves on the board of Diving With a Purpose, a Black scuba diving nonprofit dedicated to documenting slave shipwrecks.
—ABC News, 14 May 2026
Participants report profound emotional and spiritual connections during underwater visits and ancient libation ceremonies, as part of broader efforts to document slave shipwrecks and preserve Black history.
—Deepa Bharath, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
Researchers have found remains of the sailors, as well as artifacts from the shipwrecks.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 14 May 2026
The actual shipwrecks of the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror were not found until 2014 and 2016, respectively.
—ArsTechnica, 8 May 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shipwrecks
Noun
-
Many more chemical incidents in the commonwealth have not been examined by the agency, which generally allocates its small staff to the country's most high-profile disasters.—
Ruby Grisin,
The Courier-Journal,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Some of our existing housing stock will be demolished or destroyed by fire or other disasters.—
Bill Conerly,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Kyle Busch wrecks Ron Hornaday under caution!—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
-
Snow wrecks poultry houses across state Last week's winter storm damaged dozens of poultry houses in southwest Arkansas, growers reported.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Vallejo’s Broadway Project finished years late and massively over budget after contractor failures and internal disputes.—
Michele Steeb,
Oc Register,
10 June 2026
-
But most of its failures are subtler, more insidious.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
Then there were climate catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina, the normalization of active shooter drills at their schools and a worldwide pandemic.—
Lisa Respers France,
CNN Money,
7 June 2026
-
Global natural catastrophes now generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses annually, with a significant portion uninsured.—
Jim Williamson,
Fortune,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
Loop the Vikings in with the Commanders as one of the biggest disappointments of this NFL season, as JJ McCarthy has had one of the worst starting runs of any first-round rookie QB in history.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
5 Dec. 2025
-
Instead the book is a collection of images and ideas and ordinary moments and banal successes and disappointments that slowly becomes much more than the sum of its parts.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shipwrecks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shipwrecks. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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