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
Volpe is once again floundering at the plate after a brief hot streak post-All-Star Game.
—
Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
The booster catches have been one of the bright spots for the Starship program as progress on the rocket's upper stage floundered.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2025
The rest of the bullpen, which has been rocky of late, maneuvered through the remainder of the game, keeping it in check, but Boston’s offense floundered.
—Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Google Assistant is also floundering, with many users complaining about broken features.
—PC Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flounder
Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
The booster catches have been one of the bright spots for the Starship program as progress on the rocket's upper stage floundered.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2025
The rest of the bullpen, which has been rocky of late, maneuvered through the remainder of the game, keeping it in check, but Boston’s offense floundered.
—Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Google Assistant is also floundering, with many users complaining about broken features.
—PC Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flounder
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flounder
Verb
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Inspired by true events, The Rip centers on a team of Miami police officers who stumble upon millions in cash during a raid of a stash house.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Sep. 2025
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The Rise of Long-Horizon Capital Where VCs stumbled, others seized control.—
Sindhya Valloppillil,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Young Hamnet’s shuffling off this mortal coil once laid the groundwork for a masterpiece.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
8 Sep. 2025
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Shelters that shuffle people in and out overnight don’t solve anything.—
Stephan Rabimov,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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After struggling in the first half, running back Jerrod Wiley got loose on an untouched 69-yard touchdown run on the first play of the next drive to put Heritage back up two scores at 30-21.—
Jordan Neal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 Sep. 2025
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An ugly sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates sunk their struggling offense to new depths and at least temporarily removed Will Smith from the equation.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Many in Hollywood were dubious as to whether Universal and Amblin could reboot the Jurassic franchise for a third time, and birth a new trilogy more than three decades after Steven Spielberg’s dinos first stomped onto the big screen in 1993’s Jurassic Park.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
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People expecting a state championship rematch between Benet and Marist in the Crimson Classic finals had those plans stomped upon Saturday when Lockport ended up surprising the Redwings 29-27, 18-25, 15-10 in the semifinals.—
Jeff Vorva,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The frame can hold up to 650 pounds, while the fabric sloughs away dirt, drizzle, even the occasional spill of wine.—
Francesca Krempa,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Sep. 2025
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With a base of nourishing ginseng water, the formula also contains 2% niacinamide to control oil production and fade dark spots, as well as 0.5% beta hydroxy acid to gently resurface skin and slough away dead skin cells.—
Deanna Pai,
Vogue,
24 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flounder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flounder. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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