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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

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

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 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 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 Plaintiffs are so far hard to find Trump’s other tools to impose his protectionist agenda have already floundered in court. — Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026 For nearly four years, Villa have represented reliability, emphasised by what has come of direct rivals who have floundered under the weight of change. — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026 That company floundered in the pandemic, but Speier continued to make unrealistic promises to customers. — Julia Coin july 24, Charlotte Observer, 24 July 2026 But Klug wasn’t sure any individual Democrat could outrun the negative perception that pervades a state where the party has floundered of late. — Justin Papp, CNBC, 24 June 2026 That decline has done little to boost a Labour government that has floundered since winning election in July 2024. — ABC News, 11 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for floundered
  1. stumbled
  2. shuffled
  3. struggled
  4. stomped
Verb
  • But like their European counterparts, American incumbents in the automobile and space industries have also stumbled.
    — Andrew McAfee, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2026
  • For Wilmot, the worst moment occurred when Sleepy stumbled to the edge of a huge chasm in the mine, turned and began to fall backward to his death.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of stumbled
Verb
  • The dispute has caused confusion for over a million potential voters who could be shuffled among districts.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Senate Leadership Fund, the main GOP Senate super PAC, also shuffled some of its reservations, removing $900,000 in broadcast buys in the state while adding $400,000 in digital ads.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of shuffled
Verb
  • The man's family has struggled to get any information from the hospital about his status or location, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Last year, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas’ office struggled with contractor Tyler Technologies to get money from county coffers out to districts.
    — A.D. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of struggled
Verb
  • 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
  • The Bulldogs visit Arkansas, which just got stomped by Utah, to open SEC play Saturday.
    — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of stomped

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flounder
floundered
floundering
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Cite this Entry

“Floundered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floundered. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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