Synonyms of struggling

struggling 1 of 2

adjective

as in failing

Related Words

• failing
• dying
• declining
• languishing
• floundering
• unsuccessful
• bankrupt
• depressed
• insolvent
• unprosperous
• bankrupted

Dissimilar Words

• successful
• healthy
• thriving
• booming
• flourishing
• prosperous
• golden
• roaring
• wealthy
• substantial
• affluent
• rich
• lush
• prospering
• palmy
• halcyon
• moneyed
• well-to-do
• comfortable
• opulent
• boomy
• well-off
• well-heeled

struggling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of struggle

1

as in stumbling

to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually

each week I would struggle through my piano lesson, keenly aware that I wasn't getting any better

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stumbling
• floundering
• shuffling
• trudging
• limping
• blundering
• fumbling
• lurching
• bumbling
• plodding
• faltering
• swaying
• lumbering
• reeling
• jogging
• flogging
• shambling
• staggering
• tottering
• wallowing
• muddling
• teetering
• weltering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• flying
• coasting
• sailing
• gliding
• zooming
• zipping
• kilting

2

as in striving

to devote serious and sustained effort

the financially strapped couple struggled to make ends meet

Synonyms & Similar Words

• striving
• laboring
• working
• trying
• endeavoring
• toiling
• tugging
• sweating
• hustling
• plowing
• straining
• slaving
• digging (away)
• grubbing
• banging away
• humping
• slogging
• plodding
• pegging (away)
• plugging
• drudging
• travailing
• fagging
• moiling
• applying (oneself)
• sweating blood
• attacking
• beavering (away)
• buckling (down)
• hammering (away)
• exerting
• scratching
• driving
• pitching in
• exercising
• digging in
• essaying
• scrabbling
• wading
• overworking
• grinding (out)
• eking out
• trudging
• knuckling down
• overexerting
• putting out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breaking
• slackening
• easing (up)
• hanging (around or out)
• idling
• letting up
• lounging
• resting
• bumming
• chilling
• shirking
• loafing
• relaxing
• slacking (off)
• playing
• unwinding
• hanging
• goofing (off)
• hacking (around)
• lazing
• basking
• dallying
• lolling
• reposing
• dabbling
• goldbricking
• fooling around
• dillydallying
• trifling
• messing around
• vegging out
• footling
• doodling
• hanging about
• goofing (around)
• puttering (around)
• monkeying (around)
• pottering (around)
• fribbling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of struggling

Adjective

Although dozens of campuses across the district have had new principals every couple years, Licata and his staff believe this new round of hires at many of the district’s most struggling schools will be the start of major stability. — Samuel O’Neal June 11, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 June 2026

Their goal is to release them back into the wild to help restore struggling populations. — Alex Lehnert, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026

Verb

An already struggling Twitter announced plans to shut it down in 2016. — Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026

The shortfall is particularly serious because the United States and European partners are struggling to expand production. — ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026

Tua Tagovailoa has been in the spotlight, after starting last week and struggling through his first live opportunities with the offense. — Ajc Sports, AJC.com, 22 Aug. 2026

Emerging direct lithium extraction technologies are still struggling with downstream concentration costs, high energy consumption, and scale-up complexity. — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2026

In Bait, Ahmed stars as struggling actor Shah Latif, who flops in his audition to play James Bond and then becomes consumed by the quest to become the first Pakistani 007. — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 21 Aug. 2026

They were engaged before Panettiere gave birth to their daughter, Kaya, in 2014, but their relationship ended in 2018 when Panettiere gave up custody of Kaya while struggling with postpartum depression and addiction. — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026

Similar to Abrams, the young shortstop had shown a knack for exceptional, highlight-reel plays while struggling with consistency. — Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026

But Americans have been struggling to learn this lesson for decades. — Michael Kimmel, Time, 15 Aug. 2026