1
as in to stumble
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
unprepared choristers who floundered helplessly through the musical number
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
the car floundered through the heavy wet snow, constantly getting stuck
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flounder
The Bucks have floundered when Antetokounmpo has been out of the lineup this season.
—
Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
Throughout the episode, the fishing crew is filmed fishing for haddock, lobster and flounder in dangerous weather conditions for extended periods of time.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
The Twins then suffered a late-season collapse in 2024 and floundered in 2025, leading to a massive trade deadline sell-off.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2026
Bitcoin, once touted as digital gold, is floundering as gold and silver rocket to record highs and traders brace for a Federal Reserve game-changer.
—Billy Bambrough, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for flounder
Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
Throughout the episode, the fishing crew is filmed fishing for haddock, lobster and flounder in dangerous weather conditions for extended periods of time.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
The Twins then suffered a late-season collapse in 2024 and floundered in 2025, leading to a massive trade deadline sell-off.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2026
Bitcoin, once touted as digital gold, is floundering as gold and silver rocket to record highs and traders brace for a Federal Reserve game-changer.
—Billy Bambrough, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for flounder
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flounder
Verb
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Hockey players, however, are team sport Winter Olympians who play professionally in leagues looking to capitalize on the millions of global viewers that might stumble onto the sport over the next two weeks.—
Sara Germano,
Sportico.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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Dumb luck certainly did favor the bold that night, as Dallas stumbled into Cooper Flagg despite having been a Play-In Tournament team.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The race for Los Angeles mayor has been in an extraordinary state of flux, with the candidate lineup shuffling and reshuffling in the final days before the filing deadline.—
David Zahniser,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
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The Moore administration has chosen the opposite approach, doubling down on spending while shuffling money around in a game of three-card monte.—
J.B. Jennings,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Engineers have struggled to close the reaction gap between human perception and machine processing without sacrificing accuracy.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Feb. 2026
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De Meo was recruited from the auto industry, and his experience included turning around the struggling automaker Renault at the start of the decade.—
Elsa Ohlen,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The first trailer for this macho survival flick just stomped onto the internet last week with a gung-ho spirit and guns blazing.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
9 Feb. 2026
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The Seattle Seahawks stomped a mud hole in the New England Patriots.—
Prince J. Grimes,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Primarily, there are beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) courtesy of lipo hydroxy acid (LHA), a deep-penetrating chemical exfoliant that gently sloughs off old, dead cells to reveal brighter, fresher skin.—
Tamim Alnuweiri,
InStyle,
10 Feb. 2026
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The sins of the father are cheerfully sloughed off on the son.—
Elizabeth Nelson,
Pitchfork,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flounder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flounder. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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