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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flounder
The 2022-23 European champion is floundering, this being its earliest exit from the competition since 2012, and the first time that manager Pep Guardiola has ever been eliminated from the tournament before the round of 16.
—
Jamie Barton, CNN, 20 Feb. 2025
Both were drafted highly in 2018 and both floundered early in their careers.
—Alec Lewis, The Athletic, 18 Feb. 2025
The nonprofit status quo has been floundering and must evolve.
—Brianna Kamienski, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2025
The Warriors have been floundering in the Western Conference of late after a very solid start to the season.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flounder
Jamie Barton, CNN, 20 Feb. 2025
Both were drafted highly in 2018 and both floundered early in their careers.
—Alec Lewis, The Athletic, 18 Feb. 2025
The nonprofit status quo has been floundering and must evolve.
—Brianna Kamienski, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2025
The Warriors have been floundering in the Western Conference of late after a very solid start to the season.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flounder
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flounder
Verb
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The main character, a married artist in her mid-forties, sets out from her Los Angeles home, stumbles into a psychosexual dynamic with a young rental-car attendee, and decides to remodel a motel room into a love nest.—
Jennifer Wilson,
The New Yorker,
10 Mar. 2025
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Everything will then be sold – unless he’s stumbled across a famous ball.—
Don Riddell,
CNN,
10 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The Sharks shuffled their lines before the start of the third period.—
Curtis Pashelka,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
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At the glitzy afterparty, stars shuffled through a packed room.—
Jay Stahl,
USA TODAY,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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England have struggled at the latter position in recent years, and with Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall out injured until next season, Spence could be Tuchel’s best option there already.—
Oliver Kay,
The Athletic,
13 Mar. 2025
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Still, with fewer employees, the department may struggle to meet the demands of a growing number of applicants.—
Scott White,
Forbes,
13 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Don’t be surprised if a herd of wild horses stomps their way through your campsite.—
Wendy Altschuler,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
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But to have her kind of stomping through the hallways again?—
Josh Wigler,
The Hollywood Reporter,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The crumbling Victorian to our left, devoured by weeds and sloughing off shingles, looked like something out of a Hitchcock movie.—
airmail.news,
airmail.news,
17 Aug. 2024
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Don’t wait for late-arriving Easter to fire the starting gun for spring: April 1 is a good excuse to slough off the doldrums of winter and start exploring again.—
Mark Ellwood,
AFAR Media,
7 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flounder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flounder. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
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