Synonyms of collapses

collapses 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of collapse

1

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tumbles
• goes
• crumples
• dies
• melts
• crumbles
• shatters
• gives
• implodes
• yields
• buckles
• crashes
• goes out
• fails
• breaks
• gives way
• founders
• flattens
• bursts
• pops
• smashes
• snaps
• cracks
• splits
• caves (in)
• deflates
• stalls
• breaks down
• melts down
• gives out
• splinters
• conks (out)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rises
• swells
• inflates

2

as in fails

to be unsuccessful

the legal case collapsed in the face of the opposition's evidence

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fails
• flops
• folds
• misses
• struggles
• bombs
• flunks
• tanks
• falls short
• strikes out
• falls flat
• declines
• comes to grief
• flames out
• lays an egg
• comes up empty
• crashes
• founders
• craters
• crumbles
• comes a cropper
• washes out
• slumps
• dies on the vine
• slips
• flounders
• falls on one's face
• wanes
• implodes
• skids
• miscarries
• sinks
• misfires
• goes under
• self-destructs

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• goes
• succeeds
• delivers
• works out
• comes off
• clicks
• goes over
• thrives
• flourishes
• prevails
• cooks
• wins
• pans out
• prospers
• triumphs

3

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• compresses
• condenses
• squeezes
• consolidates
• constricts
• packs
• narrows (down)
• crams
• simplifies
• compacts
• contracts
• capsules
• constringes
• telescopes
• capsulizes
• shortens
• shrinks
• decreases
• curtails
• downsizes
• abbreviates
• jams
• boils down
• abridges
• diminishes
• jam-packs
• crowds
• streamlines
• concentrates
• lessens

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• expands
• opens
• decompresses
• dissipates
• disperses
• dilates
• scatters
• outstretches
• inflates
• swells
• outspreads
• distends

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• defeats
• failures
• crashes
• fizzles
• setbacks
• croppers
• nonsuccesses
• nonachievements
• futilities
• deficiencies
• disappointments
• inadequacies
• insufficiencies
• ineffectualities
• inefficacies
• letdowns

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• achievements
• successes
• accomplishments
• victories
• wins

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of collapses

Verb

As the video demonstrates, von Ensingen’s drawing (not in the show, alas) collapses all the levels, complete with stairs, setbacks, vaults, and columns, onto a single plane. —Justin Davidson, Curbed, 23 Apr. 2026

For Tottenham, what once felt unthinkable is fast becoming one of the most remarkable collapses the 34-year Premier League era has seen. —Dean Jones, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026

But measurement collapses this superposition, yielding one definitive outcome. —Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 21 Apr. 2026

Reasonableness, like tolerance, is best seen as a convention of restraint, sustained because everyone remembers, however vaguely, what happens when the treaty collapses. —Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026

If automation eliminates most jobs and the wage share collapses, the people with money—capital owners—will be already satiated, while displaced workers can’t afford to buy anything. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2026

As the castle’s internal order collapses under the weight of a string of baffling crimes, Araki strikes a fragile alliance with Kuroda Kanbei – a razor-minded captive languishing in his own dungeon – in a race to root out a traitor before Oda’s army closes in. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Apr. 2026

In Creggers’ Resident Evil, Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier who unwittingly finds himself in a nonstop race for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in chaos. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 13 Apr. 2026

The questions are valid — middle-of-field volume, under-center experience, and whether his game has enough improv juice when structure collapses — but the résumé is too strong to shrug off. —Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026

Noun

As the sun's core collapses, its outer layers, where nuclear fusion is still occurring, will puff out to around 100 times the original width of the sun — maybe more. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 23 Apr. 2026

Marin stuck to her plan of staying close until a moment that changed everything with shocking swiftness — her changing her mind and going for the green on the par-5 13th for a go-ahead birdie, and Talley adding to the sad history of collapses on the back nine at the home of the Masters. —ABC News, 4 Apr. 2026

Making that declaration is risky, given the history of collapses by professional teams in this city. —Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 3 Apr. 2026

These are firms that have survived recessions, world wars, colonial collapses, and technological revolutions. —Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026

But fears spiked at the end of last year after the high-profile collapses of First Brands, an auto parts manufacturer, and Tricolor, a subprime auto lender, called attention to significant fraud and weakness in the sector. —Sarah Min, CNBC, 30 Mar. 2026

Detailed studies of savannah elephants and three zebra species demonstrate that population fluctuations often reflect counting errors rather than real collapses. —John L. Gittleman, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2026

In the Santiago de Cuba province, housing damage was particularly severe, with 95,000 homes affected, 2,300 total collapses, and 6,000 complete roof failures. —Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 17 Mar. 2026

Homogeneous teams miss these fault lines until systems break — or trust collapses — often after damage has already been done. —Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 15 Mar. 2026