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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of floundered
So why might Longbow succeed while others have floundered?
—
James Morris, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 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
Sitting 5 1/2 games out of the final Wild Card spot with a 64-66 record, the Rangers have floundered at a critical time, losing their past four series while on a 3-11 skid coming into Friday’s game.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 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
Efforts to end property levies with ballot measures have floundered for the same reason, and some politicians who pitch abolition face related accusations that eliminating property taxes will inevitably lead to higher sales taxes.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Ryan Gerard took dead aim, but his drive floundered into the wind and splashed into water short of the green.
—Bennett Conlin, Baltimore Sun, 15 Aug. 2025
Initially hailed as a major growth opportunity, the collaboration floundered under operational pressure and insufficient returns.
—Ashley Lutz, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2025
The bill later passed the Senate as Democratic opposition floundered.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 2025
James Morris, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 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
Sitting 5 1/2 games out of the final Wild Card spot with a 64-66 record, the Rangers have floundered at a critical time, losing their past four series while on a 3-11 skid coming into Friday’s game.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 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
Efforts to end property levies with ballot measures have floundered for the same reason, and some politicians who pitch abolition face related accusations that eliminating property taxes will inevitably lead to higher sales taxes.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Ryan Gerard took dead aim, but his drive floundered into the wind and splashed into water short of the green.
—Bennett Conlin, Baltimore Sun, 15 Aug. 2025
Initially hailed as a major growth opportunity, the collaboration floundered under operational pressure and insufficient returns.
—Ashley Lutz, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2025
The bill later passed the Senate as Democratic opposition floundered.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for floundered
Verb
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The Wildcats stumbled early but got hot in October, won 10 games, beat Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl and were one of the biggest surprises in the country.—
Jon Wilner,
Mercury News,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The Patriots stumbled at the start of the Mike Vrabel era last week, dropping a winnable game to the Raiders at home as favorites.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Kraken shuffled their front office, but didn’t change direction.—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The practice schedule has also been shuffled, sleep is being emphasized and the team will travel on a larger plane.—
Haley Sawyer,
Oc Register,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But the California native struggled throughout the postseason and had just one hit and seven strikeouts across the first three World Series games.—
Jamie Barton,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
-
England had noticed Patri had struggled with the same issue against Switzerland.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That certainly looked to be the case as the Indianapolis Colts stomped the Miami Dolphins 33-8 in the regular-season opener.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Floundered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floundered. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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