1
as in to tumble
to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure
the motel balcony collapsed under the weight of so many people
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to fail
to be unsuccessful
the legal case collapsed in the face of the opposition's evidence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to compress
to reduce in size or volume by or as if by pressing parts or members together
the novel collapses events from four separate trips into one long odyssey
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in exhaustion
a complete depletion of energy or strength
suffered a mental collapse under the strain of studying for his bar exam
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in defeat
a falling short of one's goals
the complete collapse of the invasion set off a round of finger-pointing and recrimination
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of collapse
ArsTechnica, 17 Apr. 2025
Some supernovae are from high-mass stars that explode when their core collapses at the end of their life, while others are from already dead white dwarfs that accumulate enough matter on their surface to cause a catastrophic star-wide thermonuclear explosion.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2025
Toria Sheffield, People.com, 20 Apr. 2025
One of them is the across-the-board collapse of Americans’ relationships with institutions.
—Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 19 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for collapse
Verb
Transmitted by bites, scratches, or even just by getting a drop of infected blood in one's mouth, the virus spreads rapidly, effectively collapsing society.
—ArsTechnica, 17 Apr. 2025
Some supernovae are from high-mass stars that explode when their core collapses at the end of their life, while others are from already dead white dwarfs that accumulate enough matter on their surface to cause a catastrophic star-wide thermonuclear explosion.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2025
Noun
The Independent reported that 22 people were in the building at the time of the collapse, which occurred at around 3 a.m. local time on Saturday, April 19.
—Toria Sheffield, People.com, 20 Apr. 2025
One of them is the across-the-board collapse of Americans’ relationships with institutions.
—Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 19 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for collapse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for collapse
Verb
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Stocks tumbled Wednesday after Nvidia warned new U.S. restrictions on exports to China will chisel billions of dollars off its results, with market losses accelerating after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned about the economic risks from President Trump's tariffs.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2025
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Prices for Canadian imports tumbled 1.5% while goods from Mexico were 0.3% cheaper.—
Lucia Mutikani,
USA Today,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Dix’s conclusion is easily seen in the lives of famous entrepreneurs who failed at various times in their lives.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2025
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Traffic moving north from La Grange, with its 25 mph speed limit, tended to speed up while traffic coming south from Westchester often failed to slow from the 40 mph limit there, officials said.—
Hank Beckman,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Streaming services compress the audio more vigorously than is common in physical media, which can cause problems with intelligibility.—
Samuel Axon,
ArsTechnica,
25 Apr. 2025
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Treatment for groin strains includes rest, icing, compressing the affected area, and taking pain medications.—
Mark Gurarie,
Health,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Overtraining can lead to mental exhaustion and burnout.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
19 Apr. 2025
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The specific exhaustion of being a mother By Olga Khazan Subscribe to Listen1.0x 0:009:47 Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (Noa) using AI narration.—
Olga Khazan,
The Atlantic,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The striker, who has struggled to make an impact recently and was substituted at half-time in that defeat by City, produced an incredible finish to chip the Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya and make it 2-2 with seven minutes to go.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
24 Apr. 2025
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In the Dodgers’ eventual 7-6 defeat, what ensued became a game-deciding sequence of a very different kind for Ohtani.—
Jack Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
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After the Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards poked the proverbial bear, Doncic turned his game up a notch, scoring 31 points to go with 12 rebounds and nine assists (on a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line) to give the Lakers a 94-85 victory in Game 2, evening the series.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Apr. 2025
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And then, all of the sudden, the girlfriend’s gone.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The crop can be harvested at anytime but most leave the bulbs in the ground until the tops decline and flop over.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 Apr. 2025
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The Bali project seems to have flopped, reportedly leaving local construction workers in the lurch.—
Kyle Khan-Mullins,
Forbes.com,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Mike Pavlik, whose family lived across the alley behind ours and who was the leadoff batter on our softball team, squeezed my arm.—
David McGrath,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Apr. 2025
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Consumer confidence has taken a nosedive in 2025 as Americans grow more concerned that inflation could spike again, and tariffs will squeeze their wallets.—
Austin Denean,
Baltimore Sun,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Collapse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/collapse. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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