CRUMBLING Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

crumbling 1 of 2

noun

as in disintegration

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Dissimilar Words

crumbling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of crumble

as in deteriorating

to become worse or of less value the stock of the energy company crumbled after the revelations of fraud and mismanagement

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 crumbling

Noun

But advocates like VanDiver said the letters, alongside the crumbling of other programs like Temporary Protected Status and immigration application pauses, cause confusion and fear. — Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 15 Aug. 2026 Putin and his Kremlin oligarchs have confidently anticipated a crumbling of Western assistance for Ukraine. — Ihor N. Stelmach, Hartford Courant, 19 July 2026 There is so much discussion about the demise of literacy and the crumbling of the American education system. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 July 2026 The crumbling of Platner’s campaign forced a reckoning for his most loyal backers. — Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026 York said Republicans still need the president’s leadership in the midterm elections and cannot rely on the Democratic Party crumbling. — Britta Miller, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2026 If approved, the measure would take effect as soon as April 1, 2027, and would generate about $20 million annually to help pay for things such as replacing the crumbling, 100-year-old, concrete-and-steel approach ramp that provides the only access to the city’s iconic wooden pier. — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 June 2026 As the tree grows, the roots will push out and possibly up, causing cracks and crumbling of the surfaces. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 24 June 2026 The video marked the crumbling of his alibi, legal experts told CNN at the time. — Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 14 May 2026

Verb

When the government took over Riis, the east wing of the crumbling bathhouse was given over to the National Park Service lifeguards. — Jake Offenhartz, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 The club and regional government have both had different design and financing ideas for modernising the crumbling Vallecas stadium. — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026 The Pratts are in serious crisis, besieged by bullies and bad neighbors outside of their house and foundation-crumbling dysfunction inside it. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2026 The crumbling institution makes an appropriately strange backdrop for a romp that mixes madcap antics, tangled romantic relationships, and the frank, sometimes enthusiastically gross sexuality that is one of Waller-Bridge’s signatures. — Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026 Instead of crumbling in defeat, Rivera roared back with defiance. — Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Puerto Rico has struggled with water and power outages for years due to crumbling infrastructure. — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026 The way Mellencamp tells it, the walls crumbling down were those that protected the poor before President Reagan’s deregulating spree. — Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026 The video shows the building shaking and crumbling as onlookers scream before the structure ultimately gives way. — Eric MacK , Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for crumbling

Noun

Slow disintegration also appears in a triptych of videos by Ismail Ghanbari (facilitated by Tala Madani but not credited as a collaboration).

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Engineers expected the ship’s life to end with a fiery disintegration after toppling over, just as past Starships have done following splashdown.

— Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of disintegration

Verb

The Lincoln has been at sea for an extended deployment during the Iran war, which sparked concerns among lawmakers and military families after reports of the crew’s worsening mental health and conditions aboard.

— Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
For would-be pirates in a country currently grappling with drought, worsening food insecurity, and shrinking humanitarian assistance, the economic incentives and risk-reward balance may be too tempting to pass up.

— Aparajita Saxena, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of worsening

Verb

Bleacherites were bracing for the descending ball as a souvenir when the wind blew the ball back into the field of play, where Billy Williams caught it for the out.

— Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
Videos obtained by community groups also show troops in groups of 20 or more stationed outside subway stations at night, blocking teens from descending the escalators to enforce a city curfew.

— Brad Heath, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of descending

Verb

The Swift Observatory has been observing the cosmos for more than two-decades, but its rapidly declining orbit has put it in jeopardy of reentering Earth's atmosphere and burning up.

— Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026
In addition, authorities criticized John and Patsy for declining formal police interviews for several months.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of declining

Browse Nearby Words

crumbliness

crumbling

crumbly

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Style

“Crumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crumbling. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of crumbling

noun

verb

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