Synonyms of floundering

floundering 1 of 2

adjective

as in failing

Related Words

• failing
• struggling
• dying
• languishing
• declining
• unsuccessful
• bankrupt
• depressed
• insolvent
• unprosperous
• bankrupted

Dissimilar Words

• successful
• thriving
• flourishing
• booming
• healthy
• golden
• prosperous
• roaring
• halcyon
• lush
• substantial
• palmy
• prospering
• rich
• wealthy
• affluent
• moneyed
• opulent
• well-to-do
• comfortable
• boomy
• well-heeled
• well-off

floundering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of flounder

1

as in struggling

to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually

unprepared choristers who floundered helplessly through the musical number

Synonyms & Similar Words

• struggling
• stumbling
• blundering
• shuffling
• trudging
• limping
• fumbling
• bumbling
• lurching
• plodding
• lumbering
• faltering
• reeling
• jogging
• flogging
• swaying
• shambling
• wallowing
• tottering
• staggering
• muddling
• teetering
• weltering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• flying
• sailing
• coasting
• gliding
• zooming
• zipping
• kilting

2

as in shuffling

to move heavily or clumsily

the car floundered through the heavy wet snow, constantly getting stuck

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shuffling
• stumbling
• stomping
• lurching
• barging
• trudging
• sloughing
• dragging
• hauling
• shambling
• weaving
• scuffling
• stamping
• pounding
• stumping
• plodding
• lumbering
• tramping
• lumping
• slogging
• staggering
• galumphing
• clumping
• scuffing
• flogging
• flopping
• reeling
• swaying
• blundering
• tottering
• waddling
• tromping
• teetering
• careening
• wobbling
• doddering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sliding
• coasting
• gliding
• floating
• drifting
• hanging
• whisking
• hovering
• waltzing
• breezing
• wafting
• poising

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of floundering

Adjective

Or maybe this team just looked itself in the mirror and made the corrections that could have saved a floundering season. — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2026

Verb

In 2024, early data on the vaccine served as a turning point for the floundering field. — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 19 Aug. 2026

The series tells the story of Jossi, a floundering actor who lies his way into a casting call reserved for Jewish performers. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026

In 2011, Daunt was tapped to lead the floundering British retailer Waterstones, which returned to profitability under his leadership. — Sarah Glodek, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

Ted Lasso, sports comedy-drama television series starring Jason Sudeikis as an American football coach who is appointed manager of AFC Richmond, a floundering English soccer club. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Aug. 2026

Marvel similarly spent a decade effectively building its stories and characters toward Infinity War and Endgame has since been criticized for floundering a bit — awkwardly trying and discarding various characters and stories. — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 3 Aug. 2026

His clients would open up about their dating lives, which were often floundering. — Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 24 July 2026

Abandoning the outdoor heritage styles left Timberland floundering when the core six-inch boot customers moved on, a pattern that the brand has repeated over the past 30 years. — Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 22 July 2026

The Los Angeles Sparks are floundering around that midway mark. — David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 13 July 2026