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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in struggled
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
stumbled twice while she was reciting the "Gettysburg Address"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in fumbled
to make a mistake
that network announcer rarely stumbles when he's on the air
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of stumbled
Apple has stumbled in its efforts to deliver new features built on AI, as was promised nearly two years ago.
—
Kelvin Chan, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026
The two were seated courtside at Madison Square Garden in New York when OG Anunoby crashed over a barrier and almost stumbled right into them.
—Emily St. Martin, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
Starter Roki Sasaki lasted just 4-2/3 innings while closer Edwin Díaz, making his first appearance in nine days, stumbled in the eighth and gave up two runs.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2026
In a surprising twist, the team stumbled upon a recipe so straightforward it could be replicated in a high school chemistry lab.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Apr. 2026
Randy Vásquez stumbled for the first time, Freddy Fermin exited the game in the third after taking a foul ball off his mask and the Padres were down 6-0 before Xander Bogaerts’ two-run homer off Emerson Hancock in the sixth inning — the 200th of his career — showed the team’s first signs of life.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
Adebayo stumbled but did not fall when Ball grabbed his leg two years ago.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2026
But as Adebayo stumbled to regain his balance, Ball reached out and pulled on Adebayo’s leg.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2026
Adebayo stumbled but did not fall.
—Steve Reed, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Kelvin Chan, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026
The two were seated courtside at Madison Square Garden in New York when OG Anunoby crashed over a barrier and almost stumbled right into them.
—Emily St. Martin, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
Starter Roki Sasaki lasted just 4-2/3 innings while closer Edwin Díaz, making his first appearance in nine days, stumbled in the eighth and gave up two runs.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2026
In a surprising twist, the team stumbled upon a recipe so straightforward it could be replicated in a high school chemistry lab.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Apr. 2026
Randy Vásquez stumbled for the first time, Freddy Fermin exited the game in the third after taking a foul ball off his mask and the Padres were down 6-0 before Xander Bogaerts’ two-run homer off Emerson Hancock in the sixth inning — the 200th of his career — showed the team’s first signs of life.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
Adebayo stumbled but did not fall when Ball grabbed his leg two years ago.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2026
But as Adebayo stumbled to regain his balance, Ball reached out and pulled on Adebayo’s leg.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2026
Adebayo stumbled but did not fall.
—Steve Reed, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbled
Verb
-
In the piece, the Vicar of Christ is felled not by his oppressors but rather by a random cosmic event.—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Jeff Shell, now felled from his presidency of Paramount, is living proof.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The wheels fell off in the top of the ninth inning, as reliever Devin Williams, who has struggled in his previous two outings, ensured the losing streak continued.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
-
While Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans have formed a nice inline platoon, Ja’Tavion Sanders has struggled with injuries and inconsistency over the past two seasons.—
Mike Kaye
April 22,
Charlotte Observer,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
For weeks, Isaiah Mosley shuffled into the morning chaos of the Miami criminal courthouse.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Born from the embers of the eighties band Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, led by the singer and guitarist Amelia Fletcher, shuffled forward with her riffy, effervescent playing style, gradually growing more sophisticated across four LPs and an EP, without any loss of buoyancy.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In the 88th minute, Neuer fumbled a routine shot and allowed Joselu to equalise.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Fans were exiting en masse in the top of the ninth when Frelick’s RBI single off Rule 5 rookie Ryan Watson, fumbled by reigning AL Gold Glove centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela, increased Milwaukee’s lead to three.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Jones made his way off the podium to greet Clinton and tripped getting over to him.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The skull fracture was likely caused when Martinez tripped while holding Heather a couple weeks before her death, the attorneys found.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
People see this president as having blundered into a war with no clear rationale.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Back in the team after injury, Neuer made strong saves in the first half but blundered for Freiburg's second, leaping out of his goal to palm a corner straight to Freiburg striker Lucas Höler for an easy second.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The daughter of an Anaheim man allegedly stomped to death by an inmate at Orange County’s Intake Release Center is suing the county for wrongful death.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Godzilla stomped its way to Las Vegas for CinemaCon, the annual convention for movie theater owners that’s underway at Caesars Palace.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Escondido, which is sophomore-heavy, slipped to 4-17 overall, 1-7 in league play and has lost seven in a row.—
John Maffei,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Arsenal’s biggest spike came in the 59th minute when Kai Havertz, slipped through by Martin Odegaard, fired straight into Gianluigi Donnarumma’s hulking frame from just outside the six-yard box.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stumbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbled. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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