floundered

verb

past tense of flounder
1
as in stumbled
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually unprepared choristers who floundered helplessly through the musical number

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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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of floundered These teams typically floundered on and off the ice, draining the revenue-sharing pool and rarely fielding Stanley Cup contenders. — Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 29 Sep. 2026 And yet when Winston took over for Dart in Monday’s first quarter, and as the Giants’ offense floundered while falling behind big, Beckham was nailed to the bench. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026 The tech giants surged to all-time highs this week, a surprising show of strength given that the group has floundered for much of this year with the artificial intelligence trade broadening away from megacaps. — Sarah Min, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026 Europe’s carmakers have floundered in the face of these changes. — Andrew McAfee, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2026 The books might not be a one-to-one, but Phillips wrote about the high life around him as his own family finances floundered in the shadow of the Great Depression. — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Sep. 2026 The Indiana Fever floundered in a home game against the Washington Mystics, losing 93-77 on Sunday. — Tilly Robinson, IndyStar, 21 Sep. 2026 But as the institutional GOP floundered, Advance was notching headline-grabbing wins at the ballot. — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 13 Sep. 2026 Plaintiffs are so far hard to find Trump’s other tools to impose his protectionist agenda already have floundered in court. — Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for floundered
  1. stumbled
  2. shuffled
  3. struggled
  4. stomped
Verb
  • Drew Rasmussen squandered a two-run lead on the mound, Tampa Bay's bullpen let the game get away and the Rays stumbled to a 7-3 loss against the Cleveland Guardians in their American League Championship Series opener Monday night.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Kore-eda stumbled on the manga in a bookshop rather than through its serial run.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of stumbled
Verb
  • Uribe shuffled off the mound, and the crowd at American Family Field roared.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Kering is starting to clean house, having already shuffled creative directors at Gucci, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta.
    — Merle Ginsberg, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of shuffled
Verb
  • While guys such as Will Smith and Chris Stratton were key during the 2024 playoff run, the Royals have struggled to hit on reliable veteran help.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Halloran-Koren said Nicole struggled with drugs — as so many have in Kensington.
    — Danny Freeman, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of struggled
Verb
  • McColley pushed Parente out onto the street and stomped his boot in the victim’s face five times, crushing Parente’s head into the pavement before fleecing his pockets and fleeing, according to the criminal complaint.
    — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Letter writers recalled how Paden saved his father’s life when a cow nearly stomped him to death in a field, after the elder Paden came between the cow and her calf.
    — Glenn Rice, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of stomped

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floundered
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Cite this Entry

“Floundered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floundered. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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