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

The group lives off of the materials from shipwrecks and makes a life for themselves in the trees. — Zachary Fletcher, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026

Recent months have also yielded Nazi vehicles, British WWII mines, and multiple historic shipwrecks. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2026

For Cline, Day Drinker will test whether her huge online following and all those fans who’ve spent the past six years watching her survive shipwrecks and shootouts on Netflix are ready to follow her onto dry land and into movie theaters. — Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2026

Divers and snorkelers can weave through forests of giant kelp towers, encountering famously playful sea lions, neon fish, and historic shipwrecks. — Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 11 Aug. 2026

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

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