Synonyms of flopping

flopping 1 of 2

adjective

as in folding

Related Words

• folding
• collapsing
• failing
• slipping
• washing-out
• flunking
• no-good
• slumping
• declining
• inauspicious
• waning
• unsuccessful
• unpromising
• hopeless
• futureless
• bankrupt
• destroyed
• ruined
• failed
• wrecked
• kerflooey
• kaput

Dissimilar Words

• successful
• going
• triumphant
• flourishing
• thriving
• coming
• prosperous
• promising
• growing
• palmy
• booming
• robust
• roaring

flopping

2 of 2

verb

present participle of flop

1

as in plopping

to throw or set down clumsily or casually

they lazily flopped themselves onto the couch to watch the game

flopped the bag of groceries onto the counter

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plopping
• tossing
• plunking
• plumping
• flinging
• planking
• slinging
• heaving
• flumping
• installing
• planting
• settling
• ensconcing

2

as in collapsing

to be unsuccessful

the attempt to run the ball into the end zone flopped, and our team lost by five points

Synonyms & Similar Words

• collapsing
• folding
• failing
• missing
• struggling
• bombing
• tanking
• flunking
• striking out
• foundering
• crashing
• cratering
• falling short
• coming up empty
• flaming out
• slipping
• falling flat
• declining
• laying an egg
• slumping
• washing out
• coming to grief
• floundering
• skidding
• dying on the vine
• crumbling
• falling on one's face
• coming a cropper
• sinking
• waning
• misfiring
• imploding
• miscarrying
• going under
• self-destructing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• going
• succeeding
• clicking
• delivering
• working out
• coming off
• going over
• cooking
• flourishing
• prospering
• thriving
• winning
• prevailing
• panning out
• triumphing

3

as in flapping

to move or cause to move with a striking motion

a fish flopping around on the dock

Synonyms & Similar Words

• flapping
• fluttering
• flailing
• whipping
• waving
• swinging
• swaying
• flicking
• beating
• knocking
• banging
• smacking
• pounding
• thumping
• flickering
• flitting
• battering
• fanning
• oscillating
• throbbing
• spanking
• buffeting
• undulating
• pulsing
• palpitating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of flopping

Verb

Magnus shook his head, his damp hair flopping against the back of his neck. —Ben Mezrich, Vanity Fair, 6 Apr. 2026

And who knows — the Warriors might have won Sunday if Porziņģis hadn’t fallen prey to Alpren Sengun’s flopping. —Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 6 Apr. 2026

Girlfriend scales the diaristic, bric-a-brac charm of Janky Star into a high-drama pop monument to trying, flopping, and trying even harder next time. —Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 20 Mar. 2026

Cutting stems back by one-third their height will help plants resist flopping under the weight of the flowers. —Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Mar. 2026

Both teams … the Heat and the Wizards … conspired with their flopping and intentional fouling to get him to 83. —Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2026

Shawkat, with her warm, amused eyes and her mop of curls, is a perfect carrier for Mae’s air of abjection, flopping around her bed like a horny, gloomy Raggedy Ann. —Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026

That value proposition falls the longer it’s been since a movie’s release date, particularly if the film ends up flopping in theaters. —Josef Adalian, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026

Watching Jalen Brunson flopping the other night and watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander begging for calls like a Premier League player was like watching a championship fight. —Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2026