1
as in shuffled
to move heavily or clumsily
she scuffled along in shoes that were much too large for her
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wrestled
to seize and attempt to unbalance one another for the purpose of achieving physical mastery
the burglar and the homeowner briefly scuffled together in the dark
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Recent Examples of scuffled
Mackenzie Blackwood started the year 13-1-1, but has scuffled at times in the second half of the season.
—
Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 18 Apr. 2026
The Cubs need more consistency from their lineup, which has scuffled through their first nine games.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2026
Brown, who scuffled as a shooter for most of the game, caught fire late with two 3-pointers and an and-one midrange jumper that cut Boston’s deficit to eight with just over a minute remaining.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 31 Mar. 2026
A week ago, Justin Thomas scuffled to consecutive 79s at Bay Hill in his return to competition following back surgery.
—Justin Ray, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2026
The officers scuffled with the boy and wrestled him to the ground before taking him into custody, a source with knowledge of the case said.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 3 Mar. 2026
After starting the year with 14 wins in their first 15 games, the Trojans have scuffled to end the year.
—Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2026
Jothan saw us and shook our hands, as did Michael Ray, but Sun Ra scuffled by with an air of depthless blankness.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
Oklahoma City surged ahead, leading by 15 in the second quarter as Houston’s offense scuffled, but the Rockets fought back to trail by just six at the half.
—Varun Shankar, Houston Chronicle, 7 Feb. 2026
Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 18 Apr. 2026
The Cubs need more consistency from their lineup, which has scuffled through their first nine games.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2026
Brown, who scuffled as a shooter for most of the game, caught fire late with two 3-pointers and an and-one midrange jumper that cut Boston’s deficit to eight with just over a minute remaining.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 31 Mar. 2026
A week ago, Justin Thomas scuffled to consecutive 79s at Bay Hill in his return to competition following back surgery.
—Justin Ray, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2026
The officers scuffled with the boy and wrestled him to the ground before taking him into custody, a source with knowledge of the case said.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 3 Mar. 2026
After starting the year with 14 wins in their first 15 games, the Trojans have scuffled to end the year.
—Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2026
Jothan saw us and shook our hands, as did Michael Ray, but Sun Ra scuffled by with an air of depthless blankness.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
Oklahoma City surged ahead, leading by 15 in the second quarter as Houston’s offense scuffled, but the Rockets fought back to trail by just six at the half.
—Varun Shankar, Houston Chronicle, 7 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuffled
Verb
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While many of the brand’s lifestyle models are frequently shuffled in and out of production, the 9060 has held on as a staple of the brand’s lineup nearly four years after its retail debut.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
28 May 2026
-
He then was shuffled between immigration centers in California, Arizona and Louisiana — before landing in Equatorial Guinea almost six months ago.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 May 2026
Verb
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Miz and Axiom wrestled a nice, long match that was both of their best in years.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2026
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Police say the children's mother and a 20-year-old son wrestled Smerer to stop him from going any further.—
Joseph Buczek,
CBS News,
27 May 2026
Verb
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The accordionist stomped sideways under the stage lights, sweat running down his temples, looking like Angus Young sans schoolboy shorts.—
Katie Thornton,
Harpers Magazine,
26 May 2026
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Finally, after my sister had been hacking away for three minutes or so, one man stood, stared, anger evident on his face, and stomped away.—
Tom Levenson,
Time,
20 May 2026
Verb
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The memory of that episode—and of the country’s long and bloody civil war, fought from 1975 to 1990—still looms.—
Euan Ward,
New Yorker,
29 May 2026
-
José Palma, national coordinator of the National TPS Alliance — an advocacy group that has fought in federal courts against the cancellation of TPS for several countries—welcomed the extension of protections for the Lebanese.—
Gisela Salomon,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
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OpenAI, Google and Perplexity have rolled out research tools and agents for shopping, though some of those efforts have stumbled due to technical bugs or challenges with onboarding retailers.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
27 May 2026
-
The Liberty have stumbled to a 3-4 record to start the season.—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scuffled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffled. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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