Synonyms of stumbled

stumbled

verb

past tense of stumble

1

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fell
• tripped
• slipped
• tumbled
• toppled
• collapsed
• skidded
• plopped
• slid
• plunged
• crumpled
• dropped
• crashed
• plunked
• plummeted
• keeled
• precipitated
• slumped (over)
• wiped out
• flumped
• nose-dived
• free-fell

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stood (up)
• rose
• got up
• uprose

2

as in struggled

to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually

stumbled twice while she was reciting the "Gettysburg Address"

Synonyms & Similar Words

• struggled
• blundered
• trudged
• floundered
• shuffled
• limped
• lurched
• fumbled
• jogged
• bumbled
• plodded
• lumbered
• faltered
• swayed
• reeled
• shambled
• flogged
• staggered
• tottered
• wallowed
• teetered
• muddled
• weltered

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sailed
• flew
• glided
• coasted
• zoomed
• zipped
• kilted

3

as in shuffled

to move heavily or clumsily

the tipsy revelers left the path and wearily stumbled through the tangled undergrowth

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shuffled
• stomped
• lurched
• weaved
• barged
• trudged
• floundered
• shambled
• dragged
• stamped
• hauled
• tramped
• sloughed
• stumped
• pounded
• scuffled
• clumped
• lumped
• staggered
• scuffed
• plodded
• lumbered
• galumphed
• slogged
• flopped
• tromped
• swayed
• flogged
• blundered
• reeled
• waddled
• tottered
• careened
• wobbled
• teetered
• doddered

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slid
• glided
• whisked
• drifted
• floated
• hung
• waltzed
• coasted
• hovered
• breezed
• poised
• wafted

4

as in fumbled

to make a mistake

that network announcer rarely stumbles when he's on the air

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fumbled
• tripped
• blundered
• nodded
• erred
• slipped up
• flubbed
• mistook
• fluffed
• screwed up
• dropped the ball
• laid an egg
• misunderstood
• fouled up
• goofed (up)
• boobed
• mangled
• messed (up)
• loused up
• bungled
• murdered
• muffed
• misjudged
• botched
• butchered
• miscalculated
• bobbled
• misconceived
• misinterpreted
• misconstrued
• mishandled
• miscounted
• miscued
• foozled
• misgauged
• misdeemed

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of stumbled

Athletic Club stumbled through most of last season, in part due to star forward Nico Williams never reaching 100 per cent fitness. — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026

Andropov died in 1984, and Gorbachev took more than a year to gain power while the Kremlin stumbled along under the caretaker regime of the grievously ill Konstantin Chernenko. — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026

According to The New York Times, a detective within the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department who had been assigned to dig into the Shakur cold case stumbled upon Davis’ memoir and used it as evidence to build his case against him. — Marlow Stern, Variety, 10 Aug. 2026

Some stopped during their lunch break, while others stumbled across the competition by chance. — ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026

Advertisement But the test favored Claude by selecting cases where a researcher had already stumbled. — Harry Booth, Time, 7 Aug. 2026

She was accepted into Stanford University’s doctoral program after graduating with honors from Bryn Mawr College, but stumbled into a long career as a newswoman. — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2026

Basin stumbled backward over two beach chairs and fell to the sand. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026

Last year’s Jayhawks stumbled to a 5-7 record and failed to qualify for a bowl game for the second consecutive season. — Kansas City Star, 5 Aug. 2026