crumple

They were at work when the quakes struck, causing high-rise apartment buildings, shopping centers and schools to crumple.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

To wrap a basketball, for example, you’d need to crumple the paper in a horrible mess or cut many pieces and tape them together with unsightly overlaps.

From Slate ● Jan. 21, 2026

Rot and death would spread through their venerable trunks and crumple their limbs — but their roots and stumps, cradled by the continent’s most ancient mountains, lived on in the sandy, acidic Appalachian soil.

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2023

Emergency alert systems that crumple when needed most.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2023

I crumple it up and stuff it into my pocket.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

If people and institutions and businesses and government stand up to him, he crumples.

From Slate ● Jan. 23, 2026

A piercing scream erupts in the crowd; a woman’s face crumples and flutters, like a paper mask about to disintegrate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2023

His forehead crumples as he does so and his big hands shake.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2023

The situation is akin to a car that crumples in a crash: the vehicle absorbs the impact to protect passengers, but it is totaled.

From Scientific American ● Feb. 22, 2023

Samuel slowly crumples the paper in his hand.

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon

I didn’t feel any affinity with the humanoid that smashed Bolt’s 100-meter record, but found the robot weightlifter that crumpled under a 15kg barbell and staggered into a table very relatable.

From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026

When suddenly, from the depths of this cave, he pulled out a very crumpled, brown paper bag with soft, ivory fabric peaking out between the twine handles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

This middle-class neighborhood's imposing residential buildings -- and even a five-star hotel -- crumpled during the tremors.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

The look on Joe’s face when we first meet him says a lot about his crumpled ambitions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Slumped in his chair, pencil in hand, unlit pipe in his mouth, surrounded by slips of paper, many of them crumpled up.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Videos posted to social media and verified by AFP on Monday showed the catastrophic collapse of a shopping centre in General Santos, and an unoccupied school building crumpling.

From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026

For a thrilling moment, the movie is a platonic rom-com about two dissatisfied artists coming together from opposite directions: Danny crumpling under mass scrutiny, Rick weary of obscurity.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

Whether he was laughing, brooding or crumpling into sobs to create one of the most well-known and widely circulated meme GIFs of all time, Van Der Beek’s expressive appeal propelled him to virtually overnight superstardom.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2026

"But when we reached the clinic, we saw that it was closed. I didn't know it had shut down," he said, his face crumpling with agony.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2025

The only sounds are birds, a plane overhead, and leaves rattling across the grass like crumpling paper.

From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio