Definition

1. Verb:

   • To collapse / to break down: To experience a sudden and severe failure, often of a system, organization, or one's mental or physical state.
   • To decline sharply / to deteriorate: To fall into a much worse condition, especially after a period of stability or difficulty.

2. Adjective (common usage):

   • Collapsed / broken-down / in a state of ruin: Describing something that has already undergone a severe decline or failure, such as health, morale, or an economy.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Sức khỏe của ông ấy suy sụp nhanh chóng sau cú sốc. (His health collapsed rapidly after the shock.)
  • Nền kinh tế có nguy cơ suy sụp. (The economy is at risk of collapsing.)
• Adjective:
  • Bà ấy ở trong tình trạng tinh thần suy sụp. (She is in a state of mental collapse.)
  • Một ngành công nghiệp suy sụp. (A collapsed industry.)

Advanced Usage

• "suy sụp tinh thần": nervous breakdown / mental collapse.
  • Áp lực công việc khiến anh ấy suy sụp tinh thần. (Work pressure caused him to have a nervous breakdown.)

Variants and Related Words

• Suy thoái (v/n): to decline, to degenerate; recession. This often implies a gradual decline, while "suy sụp" suggests a more dramatic fall.
  • Suy thoái kinh tế (economic recession).
• Đổ vỡ (v): to shatter, to break (often physically or in relationships). It shares the sense of sudden collapse.
  • Giấc mơ đổ vỡ. (A shattered dream.)

Synonyms

• Collapse: To fall down or give way suddenly.
• Break down: To cease to function, especially referring to health or machinery.
• Deteriorate: To become progressively worse.

Related Idioms

• Suy sụp hoàn toàn: to collapse completely; to be in total ruin.
  • Sau trận dịch, nhiều doanh nghiệp nhỏ suy sụp hoàn toàn. (After the epidemic, many small businesses collapsed completely.)

1. Decline