1
as in shuffling
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 wrestling
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 scuffling
Three years later, Denver hired Cain as a pass-rush specialist, reuniting him with Bonitto as the young Bronco was scuffling through his second NFL season.
—
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 5 Sep. 2025
Addison Barger, who'd been scuffling in August, played the role of late-game hero.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
After a strong 10-game homestand last week at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals were scuffling against a pair of American League Central rivals.
—Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2025
And regardless of who is and isn’t scuffling with their swings, there aren’t enough of the type of collective at-bats that are needed to manufacture offense.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2025
Immediately after the Mets took a four-run lead, the scuffling right-hander gave up four runs in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 5-5.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2025
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 5 Sep. 2025
Addison Barger, who'd been scuffling in August, played the role of late-game hero.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
After a strong 10-game homestand last week at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals were scuffling against a pair of American League Central rivals.
—Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2025
And regardless of who is and isn’t scuffling with their swings, there aren’t enough of the type of collective at-bats that are needed to manufacture offense.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2025
Immediately after the Mets took a four-run lead, the scuffling right-hander gave up four runs in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 5-5.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuffling
Verb
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The three actors were filming a lighthearted scene, shuffling excitedly between a hot sauna and cold plunge, when Reeves’ foot caught on some flooring.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
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The film essentially takes place entirely within an under-20-minute timeline, showing the same events from a shuffling deck of points of view.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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She has been effectively retired from wrestling for over a decade, with her last match taking place on the Raw after WrestleMania 31 in March 2015.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
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As churches hold religious services this weekend, celebrants across the country are wrestling with how to help their congregations cope with and make sense of the tragedy at the Annunciation Church.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Cena’s chrome-domed antihero, Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante and and Danielle Brooks’ Adebayo stomping through spots of light.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
21 Aug. 2025
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No velvet rope, no fourth wall—just boot-stomping, beer-sign neon and crowd-absorption tech.—
Bob Bonniol,
Rolling Stone,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The emotional ballast of the film — Davidson’s bond with Dottie Achenbach (a wonderful Maxine Peake), the mother of one his childhood friends, who is also fighting her own health battles — also suffers from moments of incoherence, but the immense power of that bond goes a long way.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
7 Sep. 2025
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And while Johnson’s team is still fighting to climb NASCAR’s competitive ladder, results are starting to follow.—
Greg Engle,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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His arrival home each night is announced by his sputtering motorcycle and his drunken stumbling up the stairs.—
Adam Solomons,
IndieWire,
4 Sep. 2025
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Whew The last thing a team wants to see is its starting quarterback stumbling to the sideline four plays into the season.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scuffling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffling. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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