1
as in wrecking
the destruction or loss of a ship
the shipwreck of much of the Spanish Armada ended Spain's plans for invading England
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disaster
something that has failed
finally admitted that their marriage was a shipwreck and that the time had come to bail out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shipwreck
Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Dec. 2025
Multiple shipwrecks have been found in the bay, including the wreckage of Napoleon's fleet from the 1798 Battle of the Nile.
—CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
NBC news, 7 Dec. 2025
The four tried to sail across the sea but were shipwrecked in Spain, where all four of them survived and went on to their next adventure in Not Mexico together.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shipwreck
Noun
However, when a shipwreck strands the two of them on a deserted island, Annie discovers Chopper is a fraud and knows nothing about survival, leaving her in charge of keeping them alive.
—Verb
And killing two people who are shipwrecked at sea is also morally repugnant.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for shipwreck
Noun
-
The Ravens haven’t really had that game-wrecking pass rusher since Terrell Suggs was in his prime.—
-
In one case, the life of an upper-class woman and contemporary of Julius Caesar, Clodia, saw her reputation destroyed by false claims of harlotry, home-wrecking, and husband-killing.—
Noun
-
More than a year after the disaster, which killed all but two people on board, much is still unclear about why the passenger jet crash landed.—
-
The councilwoman emphasized that every neighborhood in Los Angeles is just one disaster from devastation.—
Verb
-
Givaudan initiated the process to receive a wrecking permit in August and has been working over the past few months to get the proper approval from various agencies, including Louisville MSD and the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District.—
-
The internet has the ability to create assassins and sway elections and destroy families, to waste our time and wreck our life.—
Noun
-
Land subsidence is the sinking or collapsing of surface land due to the removal of things such as underground water, oil or gas.—
-
Rescuers found the first victim, the 12-year-old Spanish girl, three days later, floating near the northern waters of Serai island, fewer than a mile from the site of the sinking.—
Noun
-
Patients’ failure to take their medicine as prescribed is a major challenge that contributes to hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths and billions of dollars in health care costs annually.—
-
Continue reading … SKIDDING TO SAFETY – All plane tires burst on Boeing 767 during harrowing landing failure.—
Cite this Entry
“Shipwreck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shipwreck. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
