Synonyms for crumble
- verb
- noun
Most common
decay dissolve perish disintegrate collapse crumple crush fall to pieces
Synonyms by meaning
Verb
1. Disintegrate
disintegrate, decay, dissolve, perish, moulder UK, molder US, dilapidate, decompose
Other
Noun
crunch, break-down, crisp US CA
Definitions
- v. 1
To fall apart; to disintegrate.
The empire crumbled when the ruler's indiscretions came to light.
- v. 2
To break into crumbs.
We crumbled some bread into the water.
- v. 3
To mix (ingredients such as flour and butter) in such a way as to form crumbs.
Using your fingers, crumble the ingredients with the fingertips, lifting in an upward motion, until the mixture is sandy and resembles large breadcrumbs.
- n. 1
A dessert of British origin containing stewed fruit topped with a crumbly mixture of fat, flour, and sugar.
blackberry and apple crumble
Related words
- Word family
- crumblable crumblesome
- Phrases
- crumble up
Example sentences
- decay A mother must protect her child's teeth from decay.
- dissolve Fadil brought enough acid to dissolve Layla's body.
- perish If a mouse only has one hole, it will soon perish.
- disintegrate Comets start to disintegrate as they approach the sun.
- collapse We can't stay here. The roof is about to collapse!
- crumple Do not fold or crumple this sheet.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| crumble | rising | |
| decay | falling | |
| dissolve | steady | |
| perish | rising | |
| disintegrate | steady | |
| collapse | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 2 letters
- go1
- 5 letters
- crush1, decay2, crisp1
- 6 letters
- crunch1, tumble2, perish2, molder2
- 7 letters
- corrode2, crumple2, moulder2
- 8 letters
- collapse2, dissolve2
- 9 letters
- decompose3, pulverize3, pulverise, triturate
- 10 letters
- dilapidate4
- 12 letters
- disintegrate4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (decay2 = 2 syllables).