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

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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

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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 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 lack of wreckage has hampered efforts to determine the cause of the sinking and where to focus search operations, authorities said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • One of his first major tests in office was the sinking of the Kursk, a nuclear submarine that went down with 118 sailors on board.
    — Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 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 the stock has underperformed the group, with shares tumbling this year even as peers reach new records.
    — Alex Harring, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026
  • There was a sense that only significant deals could stave off the double threat of the Austrian’s outbursts over transfers destabilising the team midway through the campaign and Palace tumbling into a relegation battle.
    — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of tumbling
Verb
  • Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez provided the margin to prevent a tie, which under House rules is the same as a measure failing outright.
    — Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Set against the competitive world of Fleet Street, Murdoch purchases the failing Sun and recruits Lamb, a working-class editor with a very different idea of what a newspaper can be.
    — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 2 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
  • Its interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former al-Qa’eda militant who led the rebel offensive that overthrew dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, has been struggling to rebuild a nation devastated by almost 14 years of civil war.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Teachers and students are struggling to parse the difference between deploying AI effectively and exploiting the technology to cheat.
    — Sian Leah Beilock, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of struggling
Verb
  • Put a fun spin on ranch by folding some into your next batch of dressing.
    — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2026
  • With its latest folding EDC tool, Titaner has taken that familiar silhouette and reinterpreted it through precision machining and structural geometry.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of folding
Verb
  • Clear information gives everyone a fair chance to ask questions and prevents resentment from filling in the missing details.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Biggest concern Wide receiver The Eagles’ reconfigured wide receiver depth chart was hard to ascertain this summer with DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon missing three weeks of team drills.
    — Zach Berman, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of missing

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foundered
foundering
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Cite this Entry

“Foundering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foundering. Accessed 8 Sep. 2026.

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