Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
collapse (verb)intransitive verb
1.
to fall or shrink together abruptly and completely fall into a jumbled or flattened mass through the force of external pressure - a blood vessel that collapsed
2.
to break down completely - disintegrate his case had collapsed in a mass of legal wreckage Erle Stanley Gardner
3.
to cave or fall in or give way - the bridge collapsed
4.
to suddenly lose force, significance, effectiveness, or worth - fears that the currency may collapse
5.
to break down in vital energy, stamina, or self-control through exhaustion or disease , especially to fall helpless or unconscious
6.
transitive verb
to fold down into a more compact shape - a chair that collapses
1.
to cause to collapse - buildings collapsed by an earthquake
2.
- condense collapse several stories into one
1.
a) a breakdown in vital energy, strength, or stamina
b) a state of extreme prostration and physical depression (as from circulatory failure or great loss of body fluids)
c) an airless state of all or part of a lung originating spontaneously or induced surgically
2.
the act or action of - collapsing the cutting of many tent ropes, the collapse of the canvas Rudyard Kipling
3.
a sudden failure - breakdown ruin
4.
a sudden loss of force, value, or effect - the collapse of respect for ancient law and custom L. S. B. Leakey
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
collapse (noun)1.
a complete depletion of energy or strength
SYNONIMS:
burnout, collapse, exhaustion, frazzle, lassitude, prostration, tiredness, wearinessRELATED WORDS:
debilitation, debility, disablement, enervation, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, frailness, frailty, impotence, infirmity, weakness; overfatigue; languor, lethargy, listlessness; sluggishness, slumber, stupor, torpidity, torpor; apathy, inertia, passiveness, passivityNEAR ANTONYMS:
bounce, dash, drive, energy, ginger, go, liveliness, pep, punch, sap, snap, starch, verve, vigor, vim, vitality, zing, zip; might, muscle, potency, power, puissance, strength; briskness, jauntiness, spiritedness, sprightliness, vivaciousness, vivacity2.
a falling short of one's goals
SYNONIMS:
collapse, crash, cropper, defeat, fizzle, nonachievement, nonsuccessRELATED WORDS:
futility, uselessness; ineffectiveness, ineffectuality, ineffectualness, inefficaciousness, inefficacy; deficiency, inadequacy, inadequateness, insufficiency; disappointment, letdown, setbackNEAR ANTONYMS:
victory, win1.
to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure
SYNONIMS:
buckle, cave (in), crumple, founder, give, go, go out, implode, tumble, yieldRELATED WORDS:
deflate, flatten, melt, melt down; break, break down, conk (out), crash, die, fail, give out, stall; burst, shatter, smash, splinter, split; crack, crumble, pop, snapNEAR ANTONYMS:
inflate, rise, swell2.
to be unsuccessful
SYNONIMS:
bomb, collapse, crater, flame out, flop, flunk, fold, founder, miss, strike out, tank, wash outRELATED WORDS:
flounder, struggle; decline, sink, skid, slip, slump, wane; crash, crumble, miscarry, misfire; go under; implode, self-destructNEAR ANTONYMS:
cook, flourish, prosper, thrive; prevail, triumph, win3.
to reduce in size or volume by or as if by pressing parts or members together
SYNONIMS:
capsule, capsulize, collapse, compact, condense, constrict, constringe, contract, narrow (down), squeeze, telescopeRELATED WORDS:
cram, crowd, jam, jam-pack, pack; abbreviate, abridge, curtail, shorten; boil down, downsize, shrink; concentrate, consolidate; simplify, streamline; decrease, diminish, lessenNEAR ANTONYMS:
dilate, disperse, dissipate, scatter; distend, inflate, swell