1
as in stumbled
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 shuffled
to move heavily or clumsily
the car floundered through the heavy wet snow, constantly getting stuck
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of floundered
In the latter years of the Roman Republic, landowners amassed unprecedented riches while plebeians floundered, spawning resentment that infected many corners of society.
—
Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
That idea is central to why many real world sectors are outperforming this year, even as the overall market and especially tech stocks have floundered.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 27 Feb. 2026
To varying degrees, all three have floundered.
—Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026
But most of the new entrants, such as Intrade and Tradesports, have floundered after running afoul of federal regulators and federal laws prohibiting internet and sports gambling.
—Suzy Khimm, NBC news, 13 Feb. 2026
Although the Timberwolves floundered in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Dosunmu provided a rare bright spot with 11 points and two steals off the bench.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
The rest of the judges floundered with Rita Ora guessing Selma Blair, Ken Jeong putting his money on Christina Applegate and Robin Thicke going with Danielle Fishel.
—Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 5 Feb. 2026
Disney named Susan Arnold as chairman in 2021, but wound up bringing back Iger in November 2022 for his second stint as CEO after the company floundered.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 3 Feb. 2026
The Bucks have floundered when Antetokounmpo has been out of the lineup this season.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
That idea is central to why many real world sectors are outperforming this year, even as the overall market and especially tech stocks have floundered.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 27 Feb. 2026
To varying degrees, all three have floundered.
—Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026
But most of the new entrants, such as Intrade and Tradesports, have floundered after running afoul of federal regulators and federal laws prohibiting internet and sports gambling.
—Suzy Khimm, NBC news, 13 Feb. 2026
Although the Timberwolves floundered in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Dosunmu provided a rare bright spot with 11 points and two steals off the bench.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
The rest of the judges floundered with Rita Ora guessing Selma Blair, Ken Jeong putting his money on Christina Applegate and Robin Thicke going with Danielle Fishel.
—Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 5 Feb. 2026
Disney named Susan Arnold as chairman in 2021, but wound up bringing back Iger in November 2022 for his second stint as CEO after the company floundered.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 3 Feb. 2026
The Bucks have floundered when Antetokounmpo has been out of the lineup this season.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for floundered
Verb
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The drunk boys urinated on the property, threw up in the backyard and stumbled and fell on the patio, the documents state.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
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The girls were found Monday evening by a dog walker who stumbled across the first body in the vicinity of East 162nd Street and Midland Avenue, near an all-boys public school called the Ginn Academy School, and called the police.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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While those votes are ongoing, expect bill language to be shuffled in and out of bills as lawmakers scramble to find homes for their priorities in the final hours.—
Kaitlin Lange,
IndyStar,
27 Feb. 2026
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Ford has since shuffled the packages around in a 2025 consolidation that will go down as the closest thing the new Bronco received to a mid-cycle refresh.—
Byron Hurd,
The Drive,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
That concern has been one of the reasons why Broadcom's stock has struggled to gain traction this year.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
5 Mar. 2026
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Agalopol struggled to get out of bed daily and could manage teaching only five students a week.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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There were some cool stunts which traveled around the world, read in Italy Ghostface was stomped in the snow, Ghostface artwork and trailers were projected on major landmarks around the world, and there was a Scream house in the UK.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
1 Mar. 2026
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On her final attempt, Gu stomped a left double-cork 1260 with a toxic grab, vaulting from sixth place into silver-medal position.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Floundered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floundered. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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