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
Then Vontaze Burfict earned a flag for his hit on Antonio Brown … and Adam Jones drew a second personal foul for scuffling with assistant coach Joey Porter.
—
Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
With the Red Sox offense scuffling lately, has the club considered calling up Kristian Campbell to try and create a spark?
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
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
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
Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
With the Red Sox offense scuffling lately, has the club considered calling up Kristian Campbell to try and create a spark?
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
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
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 technology included corrupt automatic shuffling machines that read cards and predicted which player had the best hand.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
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Card-reading contact lenses, X-ray poker tables, trays of poker chips that read cards, hacked shuffling machines that predict hands.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Almeida is extremely likely to have wrestling success early in this fight, and the question becomes whether Volkov can survive and extend the matchup.—
Brett Appley,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Army's approach evolving, but geography is a barrier The Army, which has the largest share of part-time troops among the military branches, is wrestling with the challenges of ensuring its reservists are fit to fight.—
Davis Winkie,
USA Today,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The sound of her stomping up the staircase causes her parents to share a look of weary consternation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
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But only the faithful know everything about the Mushroom Kingdom’s shell-stomping messiah.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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That’s after the consumer price index for September inched up but came in below forecasts, clearing the way for the Fed to focus more on the maximum-employment side of its mandate than the inflation-fighting side.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
26 Oct. 2025
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In reality, while the ceasefire has paused fighting and allowed limited humanitarian access, the deal leaves major issues unresolved — including Hamas’ future role, the disarmament question, and the political control of Gaza.—
Amanda Greenwood,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Footage of a father stumbling around, apparently carrying the headless body of his baby?—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
17 Oct. 2025
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Remaining unclaimed playoff spots The final two playoff spots in the Western Conference are up for grabs, with FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, the Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes all stumbling towards the finish line.—
Tom Bogert,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scuffling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffling. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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