crumple

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈkrʌmpəl/ UK /ˈkrʌmpəl/ See IPA manual

verb noun

Meanings

1

verb
to crush into wrinkles or folds; to collapse

He began to crumple the rejection letter in his fist.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to crush into wrinkles or... crush crease wrinkle rumple scrunch collapse buckle

Opposites

smooth flatten straighten

Word family

Derived forms crumpledcrumply

Related forms crimpcrump

Etymology

A frequentative of obsolete 'crump' ('to bend, curl up'), from Old English 'crump' ('bent, crooked'), with the diminutive '-le'.

crump Old English

View etymology graph ->

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Actions & Processes

# crumple

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** ˈkrʌmpəl
**IPA (UK):** ˈkrʌmpəl

## Meanings
1. to crush into wrinkles or folds; to collapse

## Examples
- He began to crumple the rejection letter in his fist.

## Synonyms
- crush
- crease
- wrinkle
- rumple
- scrunch
- collapse
- buckle

## Antonyms
- smooth
- flatten
- straighten

## Derived Forms
- crumpled
- crumply

## Related Forms
- crimp
- crump

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: crump

## Etymology
A frequentative of obsolete 'crump' ('to bend, curl up'), from Old English 'crump' ('bent, crooked'), with the diminutive '-le'.

## AI Etymology
Crumple is a frequentative of obsolete 'crump' ('to bend, curl up'), from Old English 'crump' ('bent, crooked'), with the diminutive '-le'. The immediate etymological form is Old English crump. In present use as verb and noun, it means "to crush into wrinkles or folds; to collapse", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include crimp and crump; derived forms include crumpled and crumply. Its contrast set includes smooth, flatten, and straighten, which clarifies the semantic boundary of the modern word.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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crumple

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