COLLAPSES Synonyms: 138 Similar and Opposite Words

collapses 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of collapse

as in tumbles

to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure the motel balcony collapsed under the weight of so many people

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as in fails

to be unsuccessful the legal case collapsed in the face of the opposition's evidence

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as in compresses

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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collapses

2 of 2

noun

plural of collapse

as in defeats

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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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 collapses

Verb

While venues mark minors with stamps and patrons older than 21 with wristbands, industry insiders said enforcement collapses in crowded rooms. — Kelsie Cairns, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026 Emmanuel Marre | Belgium | 155 min Cannes Best Screenplay winner A MAN OF HIS TIME stars ANATOMY OF A FALL’s Swann Arlaud as a Vichy civil servant whose faith in government collapses amid collaboration, bureaucracy, and moral surrender. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026 Single-pressing the button collapses the view to show only the arrow and distance to the next turn, while double-pressing the button expands the view to show a map with the full route across the bottom half of the display. — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 28 Sep. 2026 In general, when a submarine caldera collapses, the sinking seafloor pulls the seawater above it along with it. — Yook Ji Hun, ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2026 At the same 5-GHz frequency, a sound wave's wavelength collapses from centimeters, as is the case with light, to a couple of micrometers, roughly four orders of magnitude smaller. — New Atlas, 23 Sep. 2026 Diaz’s main character sees the crash of 1929 coming and shorts the entire stock market, so that, when the economy collapses, his private fortune soars. — Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026 More record highs are possible on Friday and through the weekend before the heat dome collapses early next week. — ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026 His body collapses in on itself on the fainting couch in the sitting room. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Sep. 2026

Noun

If drugstore brands follow prestige lines into oil-in-serum formulations, the two-step routine collapses into one. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026 Last year, the Giants were losing those one-score games and having their fans in a whirlwind of emotions with late-game collapses. — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2026 Pasticceria Italia, a popular Italian bakery, shut down last winter after suffering two ceiling collapses from water leaks in two winters followed by vandalism damage. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 24 Sep. 2026 What to do in an earthquake Earthquakes’ sudden, rapid shaking can cause structural collapses and landslides. — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 23 Sep. 2026 But as the cost of producing a unit of intelligence collapses, the amount businesses consume is exploding. — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026 Deadly mine collapses in Sudan, a gold producing country, aren’t uncommon where safety standards aren’t widely applied. — ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026 One crew handled 213 calls for service, including the house explosion that claimed the life of Leona Rice, as well as numerous structural collapses. — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026 Wilson also traces notable instances of building fiascos around New York, like awning collapses and the troubled history of 432 Park, the supertall on Billionaire’s Row. — Lila Allen, Architectural Digest, 18 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for collapses

Verb

From trashing bedrooms and throwing couches, the pair tumbles down stairs and has a chase across the lawn before ending up in the pool.

— Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 17 Aug. 2026
Front load washers are built with a horizontal drum that tumbles the clothes in each cycle.

— Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of tumbles

Verb

Modern slips and colorful dresses in fluid shapes are equally strong choices, and when all else fails, a little black dress is a safe bet.

— Corinne Pierre-Louis, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2026
But the game management staff, certain depth chart placements and how the roster fails to reach its potential are deserving of an extensive evaluation.

— Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of fails

Verb

Deal teams that prepare before a potential transaction (something my company has created a checklist for) can gain an advantage as technology compresses timelines.

— Rusty Wiley, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Much like an engine compresses fuel before ignition, FLARE first assembles the fuel to high density before delivering a separate, rapid burst of energy to trigger fusion.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of compresses

Noun

Then only one team had a worse record than their 102 defeats in 2025.

— Don Riddell, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
Meanwhile, Merz's power inside Germany has taken a blow after a string of state election defeats last month, including losses to the anti-migration and Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany party.

— ABC News, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of defeats

Verb

In Bait, Ahmed stars as struggling actor Shah Latif, who flops in his audition to play James Bond and then becomes consumed by the quest to become the first Pakistani 007.

— Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 21 Aug. 2026
Starter addition flops Last season’s trade deadline wound up being a big flop.

— Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of flops

Verb

Headway condenses nonfiction and fiction books into 15-minute summaries that make key ideas easier to fit into your schedule.

— StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026
Just as a still concentrates a large batch of weak liquid into a smaller batch of strong stuff, AI distillation condenses a big model into a smaller one that, ideally, acts like the original.

— Peter Hall, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of condenses

Noun

The installation at the military’s oldest active test base would help shield critical defense operations from wider grid failures.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026
The familiar scent of grilling merguez wafted through the air as Violette began to enumerate the system’s failures.

— Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of failures

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“Collapses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/collapses. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of collapses

verb

noun

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