1
as in to fall
to go down from an upright position suddenly and involuntarily
the bride stumbled on the altar steps and landed smack in the arms of the minister
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to struggle
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
stumbled twice while she was reciting the "Gettysburg Address"
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
the tipsy revelers left the path and wearily stumbled through the tangled undergrowth
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4
as in to fumble
to make a mistake
that network announcer rarely stumbles when he's on the air
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1
as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
was his hurtful remark a regrettable stumble, or was it made with artful intention?
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stumble
Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 6 May 2026
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
—Jenna Sims, Southern Living, 3 May 2026
Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 21 Apr. 2026
The stumbles seen on race day were largely engineering hiccups—hardware tuning, stability margins—not fundamental limits of AI.
—Ni Tao, Interesting Engineering, 20 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stumble
Verb
Trone later responded to Vance’s attacks in a video posted to social media that included the clip of the vice president stumbling over her name.
—Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 6 May 2026
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
—Jenna Sims, Southern Living, 3 May 2026
Noun
After some stumbles with AI in 2024, Apple has been largely sitting on the sidelines of the AI race.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 21 Apr. 2026
The stumbles seen on race day were largely engineering hiccups—hardware tuning, stability margins—not fundamental limits of AI.
—Ni Tao, Interesting Engineering, 20 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stumble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumble
Verb
-
Huntington Beach fell behind early in the second set but continued to keep the set close before Fruerbringer’s kill gave the Mustangs a 16-11 lead.—
Lou Ponsi,
Oc Register,
10 May 2026
-
After a jump ball, Miles chased down the ball at midcourt, started to drive and passed to Hof, whose layup at the buzzer did not fall.—
Mike Cook,
Twin Cities,
10 May 2026
Verb
-
In April, Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo proved to be an effective outlet as Chelsea struggled to cope with their pace.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
-
Family members said Ross is still struggling with memory gaps and emotional distress following her detention.—
Jade le Deley,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
MotoGP also had to shuffle its schedule due to the conflict in the Middle East, postponing the Qatar Grand Prix to November.—
Justin Birnbaum,
Sportico.com,
7 May 2026
-
But sometimes, simply shuffling the pieces can help, in our view.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
7 May 2026
Verb
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But Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace hit three-pointers while Smart was fumbling the ball and James and Hachimura were missing shots, while an Oklahoma City 8-0 run eventually gave them another 13-point lead that was never again challenged.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
-
As print and television media fumbled their way online, Gawker used the internet to pull back the curtain on celebrity, mainstream media, politics and creeping commercialism.—
Frank DiGiacomo,
HollywoodReporter,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
Kreider made no mistake hammering the puck past Hart from the low slot.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
9 May 2026
-
That will also be a huge difference from the Orbán regime, when there was no responsibility or consequences of any crime, any political mistake.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
For deep cleanings, detach the rug cover from its pad, machine wash the cover separately in cold water using a mild, non-bleach detergent and tumble-dry on air fluff mode or lay flat.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
8 May 2026
-
The nun takes a big tumble and remains on the pavement, as the man starts walking away.—
Yuliya Talmazan,
NBC news,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
The puck had just slipped through Poehling’s skates when McNabb crunched Poehling into the boards, knocking him out for the rest of the game and prompting an official review.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
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Images of the shelter slipped the Russian choke hold to appear on the world’s screens—intact and unbowed amid the rubble, like a temple time-transported from some more ancient siege, the faces of those within drained but resolute.—
James Verini,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
Verb
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We’re treated to a surreal sequence wherein Cassie transforms into the 50-Foot Woman, stomping all over Downtown Los Angeles like a monster movie, which all seems like a pretext for a scene where Sweeney’s giant boobs burst through the windows of a building.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
11 May 2026
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Rollins repeatedly stomped Breakker in the face and lined up for The Stomp, but Breakker countered, grabbed Rollins’ foot and hit a military press into a gutbuster.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumble. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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