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foundering 1 of 2

noun

as in sinking

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foundering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of founder
1
as in collapsing
to be unsuccessful the theater company foundered after its corporate funding dried up

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tumbling
to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure the twin towers started to sway and suddenly foundered

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 foundering
Noun
The process, known as lithospheric foundering, resembles a geological process on Earth in which portions of the planet's outermost layer sink into the mantle. — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 23 Jan. 2026 Any major foundering in New Mexico could have long-lasting consequences. — Elliot Haspel, The Atlantic, 28 Oct. 2025
Verb
Axel Disasi was taken underwater, foundering and falling. — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 29 May 2026 Judging just by the opening day crowd at the new outlet on Route 44 in Avon, the company’s model shows no sign of foundering despite the turbulent economy. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 9 Apr. 2026 Joel Gratz is having a bluebird day at a time when the rest of the Colorado ski industry is foundering. — Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 3 Apr. 2026 These artifacts, like the late 20th- and early 21st-century shipwrecks rusting in Caicos Banks, were monuments to the foundering dreams of successive generations, who tried and failed to make the land pay. — Henry Wismayer, Travel + Leisure, 7 Jan. 2026 Dinosaurs were flourishing, not foundering, as kings of the Cretaceous right up until the end, according to the new study. — Dino Grandoni The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2025 Beneath the opaque veneer that cult wineries like Bryant have striven to maintain, is that business model foundering in a changing wine market? — Senior Wine Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foundering
  1. sinking
  2. collapsing
  3. tumbling
  4. failing
  5. flopping
  6. struggling
  7. folding
  8. missing
Noun
  • The sinking of a large ship can also have consequences beyond an immediate military setback.
    — HOLMES LIAO, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Coast Guard and New York City officials also didn't respond to questions about the sinking of the ships.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of sinking
Verb
  • The family’s attorney says Mayich struggled through a military-style practice with little rest or water, showing clear distress before collapsing.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • In a phone interview with The Associated Press, Rodríguez Verona said survivors were disoriented and dehydrated, with many collapsing or vomiting upon reaching land.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of collapsing
Verb
  • But many homeowners locked in low mortgage rates when COVID-19 slammed the economy and sent borrowing costs tumbling; so they are protected if mortgage rates rise in the wake of a Fed raTte hike.
    — Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • By the end of the 1978-79 season, Charlie’s Angels had dropped out of the top 10, tumbling from fourth to 12th.
    — Michael Callahan, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of tumbling
Verb
  • The episode marked the latest instance of Congress trying and failing to advance AI legislation amid a growing debate over whether, if at all, to regulate the technology that industry leaders warn may pose doomsday threats to humanity.
    — Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Charlie Kirk's family blamed Utah officials for failing to prevent the conservative activist's assassination at a state university, in a wrongful death notice announced Wednesday that presages a possible lawsuit.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of failing
Verb
  • Nurses are fainting on the wards, children are flopping onto their desks at school.
    — Cressida Leyshon, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The video shows the peacock, referred to by some in the neighborhood as Sugar, seemingly flopping around then collapsing.
    — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of flopping
Verb
  • The play becomes an intellectual exercise — often a technically compelling one, and one that thankfully observes the comedy of Chekhov’s struggling souls as much as their tragedy.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • But Trumpism is also what Gramsci called a morbid symptom of the interregnum, an expression of a country riven by political polarization and by economic inequity, and struggling to come to terms with the waning of its singular status.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of struggling
Verb
  • If Curry Village is on your Yosemite itinerary — for the canvas tent cabins, the shower house after a long day on the trail or a base camp for Half Dome — there’s a piece of health news worth folding into your trip planning.
    — The Sacramento Bee staff, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Caroline Scheufele, Chopard’s artistic director and copresident, stayed near the step-and-repeat, gamely posing for photos with guests and frequently folding her hands into a heart shape while doing so.
    — Leigh Nordstrom, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of folding
Verb
  • On Friday, state media said authorities in Hanoi found the body of a university student who had been missing since Thursday.
    — Aniruddha Ghosal, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Poole allegedly did not provide documentation to account for the missing cash, and investigators could not find records that showed the cash was ever collected by Brink’s or deposited directly into the school bank account.
    — Angie DiMichele, Sun Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of missing

Browse Nearby Words

foundered
foundering
founders
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Cite this Entry

“Foundering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foundering. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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