1
as in shuffling
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 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
That pretty much tells the whole story right there, and with the offense scuffling out of the gate the club hasn’t been able to fight back whenever the starter gets chased early.
—
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
Michigan had been scuffling along, needing overtime to beat Wake Forest and surviving a nervy 67-63 game at TCU before coming to Las Vegas.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026
Cleveland’s 6-foot-6 right-hander had Dodgers hitters scuffling for seven innings, striking out 10 as the Guardians won for the second time in the three-game series.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
With the Rockets' offense scuffling in recent games, coach Ime Udoka inserted second-year guard Reed Sheppard into the starting lineup for Friday’s matchup with the Atlanta Hawks at Toyota Center.
—Varun Shankar, Houston Chronicle, 20 Mar. 2026
In the video, York, 45, can be seen scuffling with another man outside the Warwick nightclub, where the actor had been attending a pre-Oscars party hosted by LA Today.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 17 Mar. 2026
McIlroy was able to tee it up on Thursday, scuffling to a score of 74.
—Justin Ray, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Bryson Tiller had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for Kansas, which handed the scuffling Cougars (23-5, 11-4) their third consecutive defeat — all against top-15 opponents.
—ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
Miami had been scuffling, dropping three of its previous six games.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2026
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
Michigan had been scuffling along, needing overtime to beat Wake Forest and surviving a nervy 67-63 game at TCU before coming to Las Vegas.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026
Cleveland’s 6-foot-6 right-hander had Dodgers hitters scuffling for seven innings, striking out 10 as the Guardians won for the second time in the three-game series.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
With the Rockets' offense scuffling in recent games, coach Ime Udoka inserted second-year guard Reed Sheppard into the starting lineup for Friday’s matchup with the Atlanta Hawks at Toyota Center.
—Varun Shankar, Houston Chronicle, 20 Mar. 2026
In the video, York, 45, can be seen scuffling with another man outside the Warwick nightclub, where the actor had been attending a pre-Oscars party hosted by LA Today.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 17 Mar. 2026
McIlroy was able to tee it up on Thursday, scuffling to a score of 74.
—Justin Ray, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Bryson Tiller had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for Kansas, which handed the scuffling Cougars (23-5, 11-4) their third consecutive defeat — all against top-15 opponents.
—ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
Miami had been scuffling, dropping three of its previous six games.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuffling
Verb
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The Bruins are shuffling off to Buffalo.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
15 Apr. 2026
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The Philadelphia Phillies are shuffling up the bullpen by sending Seth Johnson back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalling Chase Shugart from the IronPigs.—
Tom Dougherty,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Those changes will be contested, in math as in other academic disciplines wrestling with AI’s impact.—
Konstantin Kakaes,
Quanta Magazine,
13 Apr. 2026
-
China, South Korea, Japan and many European nations are wrestling with ultra-low birthrates and shrinking labor markets.—
Daniel Moss,
Twin Cities,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That’s the sound of clogs slowly stomping back into the spotlight.—
Andrea Zendejas,
Vogue,
5 Apr. 2026
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For pretty much every gamer alive today, those first few notes induce an almost Pavlovian response — sparking an urge to grab a controller on your lap that isn’t actually there and bringing to mind comfortable, warm memories of stomping Goombas and riding Yoshi on a quest to save Princess Peach.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The camp is entirely dependent on aid, disrupted after cuts by USAID last year and again by fighting between Syrian and Kurdish forces this February.—
Jane Arraf,
NPR,
11 Apr. 2026
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Despite how difficult sitting through the case was, the jurors commended Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez for her fairness — and lead prosecutor Abbe Rifkin for fighting so hard for Quatisha.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Lina cried out, stumbling backward.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
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Unlike the blue plaques affixed to residences in London, which indicate where notable figures once lived, or the Stolpersteine (or stumbling stones) embedded in the sidewalks of German cities to mark the former homes of Holocaust victims, Bucharest’s red disks are not commemorative but predictive.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scuffling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffling. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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