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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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 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 Harris didn’t add a bat, and the offense floundered in August and September. — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 3 June 2026 The three-time batting champion has thrived in areas where the Padres have floundered. — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 June 2026 That mission has floundered in recent weeks with the departure of politicians who were key to the coalition agreement. — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 29 May 2026 The Broncos faltered in the snow, the Nuggets floundered on the hardwood, and now the Avalanche fail on ice. — Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 29 May 2026 But his solo career has floundered. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 May 2026 After Ana was caught driving without a license and deported in September, her daughter stopped eating and floundered in school. — Caitlin Dickerson, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for floundered
  1. stumbled
  2. shuffled
  3. struggled
  4. stomped
Verb
  • But if the numbers hold up, Orange County may have stumbled onto something much bigger than baseball.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 July 2026
  • After departing Ecuador en route to El Segundo, members of the crew stumbled upon an unexpected find inside the ship’s garbage — trash bags filled with cocaine, 430 pounds of it.
    — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
Definition of stumbled
Verb
  • Bulldozers shuffled right through the rubble to make roads that cut Gaza into separate sections.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026
  • And before several services shuffled their rankings earlier this week, no QB ranked inside the top 20.
    — Grace Raynor, New York Times, 16 July 2026
Definition of shuffled
Verb
  • Turkey struggled against the USMNT’s corners throughout the game, with multiple chances created from outswinging corners towards the penalty spot.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 14 July 2026
  • The visit comes as Garrity trails Shapiro by roughly 20 points, raising questions about how much political influence DeSantis carries in a battleground state where his 2024 presidential campaign struggled to break through.
    — Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 14 July 2026
Definition of struggled
Verb
  • Cece got out of bed, put on a pair of fuzzy pink slippers, and stomped to her mother’s office.
    — Jessica Contrera, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
  • On Monday night, a 39-year-old man wearing a Spurs jersey was stomped and punched after Game 3 while walking down West 47th Street, about 15 blocks from the arena.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 14 June 2026
Definition of stomped

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Cite this Entry

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

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