1
as in climbing
to move (as up or over something) often with the help of the hands in holding or pulling
the toddler scrambled up the stairs
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in disrupting
to undo the proper order or arrangement of
scrambled the letters of the word
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrambling
Although Congress has been scrambling in recent weeks to negotiate a deal that would restore the subsidies, prospects look grim.
—
Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 15 Feb. 2026
That rhetoric has been replaced by a basic long-leash Republicanism — a shift that may be unsurprising with a dealmaker in the Oval Office, but has disappointed progressives and hardcore populists and sent legal sherpas scrambling to freshen their advice.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 14 Feb. 2026
Broken streetlights emerged as a hot-button issue in this year’s election, with council members scrambling to find ways to restore them.
—Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2026
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Friday that the government agencies involved in El Paso are working to address the concerns that led to the cancellation of more than a dozen flights and sent travelers scrambling.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
The disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mom has left a lot of people scrambling in different ways.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 13 Feb. 2026
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Friday that the government agencies involved in El Paso are working to address the concerns that led to the cancellation of more than a dozen flights and sent travelers scrambling.
—ABC News, 13 Feb. 2026
In January and February 2025, grocery shoppers were scrambling to find eggs on bare shelves and paying skyrocketing prices.
—Betty Lin-Fisher, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Lawyers spent the weekend scrambling with the sudden notices.
—Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 9 Feb. 2026
Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 15 Feb. 2026
That rhetoric has been replaced by a basic long-leash Republicanism — a shift that may be unsurprising with a dealmaker in the Oval Office, but has disappointed progressives and hardcore populists and sent legal sherpas scrambling to freshen their advice.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 14 Feb. 2026
Broken streetlights emerged as a hot-button issue in this year’s election, with council members scrambling to find ways to restore them.
—Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2026
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Friday that the government agencies involved in El Paso are working to address the concerns that led to the cancellation of more than a dozen flights and sent travelers scrambling.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
The disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mom has left a lot of people scrambling in different ways.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 13 Feb. 2026
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Friday that the government agencies involved in El Paso are working to address the concerns that led to the cancellation of more than a dozen flights and sent travelers scrambling.
—ABC News, 13 Feb. 2026
In January and February 2025, grocery shoppers were scrambling to find eggs on bare shelves and paying skyrocketing prices.
—Betty Lin-Fisher, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Lawyers spent the weekend scrambling with the sudden notices.
—Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 9 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrambling
Verb
-
But with no set end date, some workers stay for years, climbing the ranks.—
Miranda Dunlap,
jsonline.com,
13 Feb. 2026
-
The stock bounced back some last year, climbing 19%, and is now up 6% in 2026.—
Kristina Partsinevelos,Ari Levy,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
While Andreessen saw software disrupting industries, Morgan Stanley sees AI disrupting labor itself.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Want to know more about how AI is disrupting Hollywood?—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The piece is a collection of disused shoemaker boxes, once used by cobblers to keep tools, pressed against each other and stacked up, clambering toward the ceiling.—
Edna Bonhomme,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
-
By the end of the night, so many fans had crowd-surfed from the pit to the stage, clambering onto the platform, that the band members were barely visible.—
Audrey Gibbs,
Nashville Tennessean,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Metcalf and Pullman are both wonderful in their shuffling ordinariness, reenacting long-obsolete parental dynamics with a kind of rueful, hopeful denial.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Bridgerton treats it as though every woman got multiples of their yearbook photo to hand around as headshots, and Benedict’s taking what would have been treasured personal heirlooms and just shuffling through them and tossing out anyone with the wrong hair color.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The citizens of Texas are confusing hospitality for complacency.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Registration deadlines, confusing rules and inconsistent access make participation harder at the very moment young people become eligible to vote.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Managing the genetic health of such a small population is essential for the species’ long-term viability, and the hair-collection method offers a noninvasive way to gather vital data without disturbing the wombats in their burrows.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
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The killings shocked the community, as did Caneiro's trial, which laid out disturbing details of betrayal and violence within the family.—
Christine Sloan,
CBS News,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scrambling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrambling. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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