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

Verb

However, the technology has been moving faster than state regulations can accommodate, and lawmakers have been struggling to walk the line between innovation and patient safety. —Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026

And, for many borrowers struggling with debt, exploring alternatives like debt settlement or consolidation may offer significant relief without the complications that bankruptcy rules can create. —Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026

The service projects will include packing winter hygiene kits for neighbors struggling, snack packs and cancer care kits. —Cathy Kozlowicz, jsonline.com, 8 Jan. 2026

Volpe’s drama follows Leonie Benesch (September 5, The Teacher’s Lounge) playing an overextended nurse struggling through a demanding night shift at a Swiss hospital. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Jan. 2026

Nora, a volatile actress struggling with crippling stage fright, is consumed by deep resentment over her father’s abandonment. —Robert Lang, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2026

The lower prices on the dairy staples are good news for shoppers, who have been struggling with rising grocery prices amid inflation and tariff increases. —Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 8 Jan. 2026

Californians who’ve been struggling to keep up with their student loans could see a major change in the next month. —Tiffani Jackson, Sacbee.com, 8 Jan. 2026

The rich are getting richer, the middle class is frustrated, and the poor are struggling. —Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Jan. 2026