1
as in shuffled
to move heavily or clumsily
she scuffled along in shoes that were much too large for her
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scuffled
The Dodgers' offense has scuffled in the last couple of games, putting more pressure on the pitching staff.
—
Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
The offense has scuffled, but the defense has been fantastic.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2025
In Montpellier, in the southwest, police scuffled with protesters who had set up a barricade to block traffic at a roundabout.
—Stephane Mahe, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
That new-look unit scuffled on Sunday, surrendering four sacks and nine quarterback hits while struggling to clear rushing lanes.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
The Red Sox have scuffled of late, losing seven of their last 10 games.
—Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
The hottest day of training camp was July 29, which fans will remember as the day Chiefs rookies Josh Simmons and Ashton Gillotte scuffled.
—Emily Curiel, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2025
The struggling reliever blew a save in Monday’s series-opener and has scuffled since the start of July, forcing Boone to consider alternatives for the closer’s role.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2025
Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
The offense has scuffled, but the defense has been fantastic.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2025
In Montpellier, in the southwest, police scuffled with protesters who had set up a barricade to block traffic at a roundabout.
—Stephane Mahe, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
That new-look unit scuffled on Sunday, surrendering four sacks and nine quarterback hits while struggling to clear rushing lanes.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
The Red Sox have scuffled of late, losing seven of their last 10 games.
—Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
The hottest day of training camp was July 29, which fans will remember as the day Chiefs rookies Josh Simmons and Ashton Gillotte scuffled.
—Emily Curiel, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2025
The struggling reliever blew a save in Monday’s series-opener and has scuffled since the start of July, forcing Boone to consider alternatives for the closer’s role.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuffled
Verb
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Empty boxes were stacked along a side wall in the locker room as players shuffled in and out to pack up a season’s worth of shirts and jerseys and cleats and memorabilia.—
Nicki Jhabvala,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
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First, the sophomore shuffled back into coverage after showing A-gap pressure to intercept a Bryce Underwood pass over the middle of the field, ending a key fourth-quarter drive.—
David Eckert,
Austin American Statesman,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
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His brothers, Marcel and Anthony, wrestled at both Reavis and Oak Lawn.—
Patrick Z. McGavin,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
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The Frenchman wrestled an awful Alpine to 11 Q3 appearances in 2025 and brought in 100 percent of his team’s points.—
Alex Kalinauckas,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Jenkins brutally stomped and punched Coto, who was severely injured and put on life support.—
Tony Aiello,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The disarmingly handsome comic adopted the delivery of a smarmy newsman and deadpanned a joke about the hatching of a baby sandpiper, a triumph for the zoo where it was born, until the bird was stomped to death by a baby hippo born a day earlier.—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN Money,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Players fought, fought, fought, gave us every chance in the world.—
Maddie Hartley,
Kansas City Star,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Germany and France fought centuries of bloody wars before becoming the bedrock of the European Union.—
Jon Medved,
semafor.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The Avs stumbled out of the starting blocks the past two seasons.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
8 Nov. 2025
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Three years ago, two Sudanese men stumbled into a police station in the desert town of Tazirbu.—
Mick Krever,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scuffled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffled. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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