as in lumbering
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as in shuffling
to move heavily or clumsily
disconsolate and exhausted after losing the match, the wrestler shambled toward the locker room
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shambling
Walt Hunter, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2025
Once the beyond-the-grave comeuppance arrives, this short is just standard shambling ghouls and raining blood.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
The shambling Cliff and the spiky Didi make for an odd couple.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
These movies—including the seven-hour-long Sátántangó, a centerpiece of which is a shambling dance in a barroom—often swap the meandering sentence for a single camera shot that lasts 10 minutes or more.
—Walt Hunter, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2025
Once the beyond-the-grave comeuppance arrives, this short is just standard shambling ghouls and raining blood.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
The shambling Cliff and the spiky Didi make for an odd couple.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
The Walking Dead keeps shambling along, now splintered into a bunch of pretty lackluster spinoffs.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shambling
Verb
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Go on a street food tour Street food tours are great things to do in Sicily and a fabulous alternative to hours of shuffling through museums.—
Rosalyn Wikeley,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Jan. 2026
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It's designed to offer a satisfying and calming shuffling motion, guided by a strong magnet and a seamless sliding track on the inside.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Do not forget that the local job market was wobbly in 2025.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
9 Jan. 2026
-
The Rockies have taken their first step toward shoring up their wobbly rotation by adding veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Packers are stumbling coming into the playoff with four straight losses, two of them via absolute giveaways.—
Hank Gola,
New York Daily News,
9 Jan. 2026
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Government agencies and businesses that invest in this training, and that insist every critical number survives a deterministic check, will capture AI's benefits without stumbling into its blind spots.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The contrast with Durant’s lumpish Johnny makes no sense.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Oct. 2024
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Because both actors look like lumpish proletarian versions of Ingmar Bergman stars — Alma Pöysti, radiant yet benumbed, plays Ansa like a dish-towel Bibi Andersson, and Jussi Vatanen could be the schlump brother of Max von Sydow (with a dollop of Ryan Gosling).—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
23 May 2023
Verb
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Then there’s the people watching, from the tailgating to the communal divot stomping, full of dramatic sun dresses and hats with flourishes, seersucker suits and, yes, hats with flourishes.—
Eric Barton,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Jan. 2026
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When episode 8 opens, Maia is stomping around NYC’s Chinatown, eager to find a pretext for breaking no-contact.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
22 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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In the fall and early winter, there might be 20 creatures lounging there, occasionally galumphing or issuing a burp noise that echoes over the water.—
John Metcalfe,
Mercury News,
24 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The camera becomes unsteady and points toward the sky and then returns to the street view showing Good’s SUV careening away.—
Rebecca Santana,
Fortune,
10 Jan. 2026
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The camera becomes unsteady and points toward the sky and then returns to the street view showing Good’s SUV careening away.—
REBECCA SANTANA,
Austin American Statesman,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shambling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shambling. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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