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 Despite massive searches, his whereabouts remained a mystery until June of that year when a group of local hikers stumbled upon a boot, some bones and a driver’s license with a familiar face. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2026 Gunn and Safran started off with the successful launch of a new Superman movie last year but then stumbled big with Supergirl, a critical and commercial bomb. — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 9 Nov. 2026 The last chance for the Mountaineers ended when Hawkins stumbled and fell in the end zone for a safety in the final two minutes. — ABC News, 7 Nov. 2026 Danielewski winds the story through a dead man’s manuscript and the frantic footnotes of the troubled young man who stumbled upon it. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Nov. 2026 Johnson had nothing but space, and stumbled to make one move before reaching the end zone for his first career touchdown. — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2026 With the Raiders trailing by two, Cousins tossed a screen pass to Jeanty - who stumbled and then zipped downfield for 45 yards to get to the Jets 13. — Cbs New York Team, CBS News, 1 Nov. 2026 Lopez Andrade, according to investigators, stumbled upon Guevara Machado when she was locked out of her room. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2026 An Egyptian farmer tending to his cucumbers stumbled upon an ancient stone that led archaeologists to a much bigger discovery. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbled

Verb

Extramarital affairs and relationships that were not disclosed to board members have felled CEOs at companies as prominent as Boeing and McDonald’s in the past.

— Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 9 Nov. 2026
Collins faces Democrat Troy Jackson, a former Maine Senate leader who stepped in to the race after scandals felled nominee Graham Platner in July.

— Justin Papp,Caleigh Keating,Garrett Downs,Kevin Breuninger,Dan Mangan, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of fell

Verb

Yet when asked to move beyond answering questions to framing their own, many struggled.

— Washington Post, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2026
But Lloyd, who had long struggled with mental health issues, was also suffering from drug addiction, and conflicts with Verlaine led to the band’s breakup.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of struggled

Verb

On the day of disembarkation, shuttle buses pulled up alongside the Odyssey and passengers shuffled out.

— Shayla Love, New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2026
That said, moving off Nikola’s money certainly could/should be a Heat consideration at some point, with Jovic shuffled out of the rotation Wednesday night against the Clippers.

— Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of shuffled

Verb

Replay review confirmed that Bachmeier had indeed fumbled, and separately confirmed that Moa had scored.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
Earlier, Jones fumbled after backup tailback Evan Pryor failed to pick up Georgia linebacker Quintavius Johnson, who knocked the ball out of Jones’ hand.

— Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

On this day in 1922, according to the popular account, a boy tripped on a stone and kicked off one of the greatest archaeological finds in history.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Nov. 2026
Schaefer stayed on the ice for the first half of the extra period before Nashville's Filip Forsberg tripped him, forcing the period's first stoppage.

— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 28 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

This year, the party headed to Los Angeles, where all your favorite models — and then some — stomped the runway in lace, lace and more lace.

— Hedy Phillips, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of stomped

Verb

An early 1990s recession clobbered Nasdaq, but home prices slipped only modestly, down 1% annually.

— Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 11 Nov. 2026
The observation comes after the Nasdaq Composite slipped earlier this week, as losses in Nvidia led tech stocks lower.

— Liz Napolitano,Hugh Leask,Lee Ying Shan,Fred Imbert, CNBC, 10 Nov. 2026