TOPPLING Synonyms: 27 Similar and Opposite Words

toppling

verb

present participle of topple

as in falling

to go down from an upright position suddenly and involuntarily the tower of blocks toppled even though I bumped into it ever so slightly

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 toppling Statue toppling riots… and the very real possibility of death. — Rund Abdelfatah, NPR, 2 July 2026 Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton missed the entire 2025-26 campaign to recover from a torn Achilles, but the Pacers were one game away from toppling the Oklahoma City Thunder and winning the 2024-25 championship before Haliburton got hurt. — Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 But soon after, Venezuela's strongest quakes in more than a century ripped through coastal La Guaira state, toppling the hotel and likely killing most of the deportees there, according to relatives. — Deisy Buitrago, USA Today, 30 June 2026 On Wednesday evening, Venezuela was hit with its largest tremors in more than a century — toppling buildings and claiming more than 100 lives. — Kasha Patel, CNN Money, 25 June 2026 In both cases, tornadoes about 200 yards wide traveled roughly 2 miles, toppling trees, tossing lawn furniture and knocking down power lines. — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026 Organizing your beddings into groups will also help prevent them from toppling over. — Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 17 June 2026 Such pinches have been toppling financial firms for decades. — Gary Sernovitz, New Yorker, 15 June 2026 He’s drawn to attempting to achieve things that his predecessors could not, including seizing territory for the United States (Greenland, for sure, but maybe Canada, too) and toppling antagonistic regimes (Venezuela, Iran, possibly Cuba). — Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for toppling

Verb

The skyscraper has been the subject of multiple complaints, including allegations of falling debris and unsafe conditions, records show.

— Kelly McCleary, CNN Money, 8 July 2026
After receiving a report of bricks falling from the 37-story building, fire officials said two columns had buckled on the 21st and 22nd floors, while floors were sagging between the 21st and 26th floors.

— Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA Today, 8 July 2026

Definition of falling

Verb

Australia’s online platforms are stumbling at the very first step in implementing age checks for users, rendering a world-first teen social media ban ineffective, a study by a team that advised the government’s rollout of the curbs found.

— Reuters, NBC news, 7 July 2026
Which is why Rhaenyra stumbling during her first days on the job really sucks as a Team Black truther.

— The Editors, Vulture, 3 July 2026

Definition of stumbling

Verb

Video of the incident shows Henderson trying to climb back over the advertising barriers, tripping, and landing hard on his wrist.

— Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 6 July 2026
But the tripping foul was clear on video review, and surprisingly Bruno Guimaraes, not superstar Vinicius Junior, stepped up to take the penalty kick.

— Andy Clayton, New York Daily News, 5 July 2026

Definition of tripping

Verb

Cabrera allowed four runs on four hits and two walks in 4⅓ innings and the Padres piled on against Arizona’s bullpen in slipping ahead of the Diamondbacks in the wild-card race.

— Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2026
But instead of slipping into fixer mode, reflect on what the situation is exposing to you about an emotional pattern.

— Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026

Definition of slipping

Verb

Earlier this week, Sandy took an unexpected fledge after losing her balance and tumbling down the nest tree.

— Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 2 July 2026
On July 9, 2025, people at Camp Wildcraft reported hearing a loud crack before the massive branch, estimated to weigh several hundred pounds, came tumbling down, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Lt.

— Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026

Definition of tumbling

Browse Nearby Words

topples

toppling

tops

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Toppling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toppling. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of toppling

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on toppling

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

fulcrum

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes