crumpled

American  

[kruhm-puhld] / ˈkrʌm pəld /

adjective

1. rumpled; wrinkled; crushed.

2. bent in a spiral curve.

   a crumpled ram's horn.

---

Other Word Forms

• uncrumpled adjective

Etymology

Origin of crumpled

1275–1325; Middle English; variant of crimpled, past participle of crimple

Example Sentences

Far from luxuriating in a serene and pristine writing environment, Ms. Lewin reveals, Woolf worked amid “old nibs, bits of string, used matches, rusty paper-clips, crumpled envelopes, broken cigarette-holders, etc.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Colbert took a paper copy with the CBS statement, crumpled it, and put it in a plastic bag typically used to collect dog feces.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

There are crumpled signs for hospital departments strewn on the ground and medical records drying on a tarpaulin between the admin offices.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2025

Buildings in Whitehouse were destroyed or crumpled, with corrugated roofs strewn across the ground.

From Barron's • Nov. 2, 2025

Opal crumpled up her list of silly names and jumped away from me, but the miller took no notice of her.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff