STUMBLED Synonyms: 124 Similar and Opposite Words

stumbled

verb

past tense of stumble

as in fell

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in struggled

to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually stumbled twice while she was reciting the "Gettysburg Address"

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in shuffled

to move heavily or clumsily the tipsy revelers left the path and wearily stumbled through the tangled undergrowth

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in fumbled

to make a mistake that network announcer rarely stumbles when he's on the air

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of stumbled Russia stumbled in all three of its Phobos attempts as well as many other Mars endeavors. — ABC News, 19 Oct. 2026 Munyon's Paw-Paw, an alcoholic beverage dating to the early 1900s, has been resurrected by two longtime spirits industry veterans who stumbled upon its unusual history during a family outing. — Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026 But since then, the market has stumbled as jitters spread about whether rising borrowing costs will put pressure on risky corners of the AI boom that are reliant on debt. — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026 Kore-eda stumbled on the manga in a bookshop rather than through its serial run. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026 Jessica Koslow stumbled upon them at another shop, Virgil Normal, resulting in a collaboration with her restaurant Sqirl. — Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026 So why has Hyperliquid’s DAT flourished while the others have stumbled? — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026 Of the seven clubs that had 14 or more players from their organizations appear in the WBC, several stumbled early and only the Phillies and Brewers made the postseason. — Kansas City Star, 4 Oct. 2026 Hernández stumbled through July and August before a swing fix sparked a September turnaround. — Beth Harris, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbled

Verb

Griess, the superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, said the 430 trees that were felled were not identified as hazardous or raising safety concerns.

— Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026
Yet trees that took a millennium to grow can be felled in under an hour.

— Annika Hammerschlag, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of fell

Verb

Because Luke’s Diner was essentially a wooden frame without insulation—and the cast and crew constantly shuffled in and out the door—the December and January shoots on the backlot could be brutal.

— Mara Reinstein, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2026
Offensive line shuffled up Dykes said in earlier in the week that TCU looked at everything throughout the program during the 2-3 start and would make the necessary adjustments to try and turn things around.

— Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of shuffled

Verb

Carr fumbled while trying to spike the ball, and Isaiah Glasker pounced on it to help the Cougars maintain a two-score lead going into the locker room.

— John Coon, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Then, with Georgia a first down away from a game-winning field-goal attempt, Stockton fumbled the ball.

— Connor Riley, AJC.com, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

Up until tonight, Raman has done a good job of communicating a message of hope and change, while Bass, as the incumbent, has repeatedly tripped on her record over the biblically bad four years of her first term.

— Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
The truest sign that Joseph had tripped the Rams up with Hufanga’s blitz came by looking at Rams right guard Kevin Dotson.

— Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of tripped

Verb

Rubio is the president’s top adviser on both national security and diplomacy at a moment when the United States has blundered into an unpopular war that appears to be a strategic catastrophe.

— David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 11 May 2026
Padres fielders blundered in three of his outings.

— Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026

Definition of blundered

Verb

McColley pushed Parente out onto the street and stomped his boot in the victim’s face five times, crushing Parente’s head into the pavement before fleecing his pockets and fleeing, according to the criminal complaint.

— Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 13 Oct. 2026
Letter writers recalled how Paden saved his father’s life when a cow nearly stomped him to death in a field, after the elder Paden came between the cow and her calf.

— Glenn Rice, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026