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
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Recent Examples of stumbled
The Wildcats stumbled early but got hot in October, won 10 games, beat Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl and were one of the biggest surprises in the country.
—
Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025
The Patriots stumbled at the start of the Mike Vrabel era last week, dropping a winnable game to the Raiders at home as favorites.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Cinemark stock has stumbled 9% this year.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 12 Sep. 2025
In the last few years, researchers have stumbled upon baffling signals from deep space, uncovered strange features hiding beneath our oceans, and found clues that hint at life’s secrets on other worlds.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2025
The Rise of Long-Horizon Capital Where VCs stumbled, others seized control.
—Sindhya Valloppillil, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Wendy had stumbled onto territory that Lizzo immediately deemed off the record.
—Allison P. Davis, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2025
Countryman stumbled through the woods and survived the night.
—Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2025
And arguing with the benefits of a difficult tuneup game can be a useless point, especially as Napier stumbled in from a practice that ran almost 10 minutes long, gearing up for USF.
—Noah White, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025
The Patriots stumbled at the start of the Mike Vrabel era last week, dropping a winnable game to the Raiders at home as favorites.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Cinemark stock has stumbled 9% this year.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 12 Sep. 2025
In the last few years, researchers have stumbled upon baffling signals from deep space, uncovered strange features hiding beneath our oceans, and found clues that hint at life’s secrets on other worlds.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2025
The Rise of Long-Horizon Capital Where VCs stumbled, others seized control.
—Sindhya Valloppillil, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Wendy had stumbled onto territory that Lizzo immediately deemed off the record.
—Allison P. Davis, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2025
Countryman stumbled through the woods and survived the night.
—Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2025
And arguing with the benefits of a difficult tuneup game can be a useless point, especially as Napier stumbled in from a practice that ran almost 10 minutes long, gearing up for USF.
—Noah White, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbled
Verb
-
Cal Fire’s newest proposal for Jackson, dubbed AMEX, targets nearly 500 acres with a patchwork of small clearcuts and is silent on tree sizes to be felled.—
John P. O’Brien,
Mercury News,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Footage from the 1966 Italian documentary Africa Addio, of a herd of elephants being felled by both ground hunters and sharpshooters in helicopters, is distressing to watch.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But the California native struggled throughout the postseason and had just one hit and seven strikeouts across the first three World Series games.—
Jamie Barton,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
-
England had noticed Patri had struggled with the same issue against Switzerland.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Kraken shuffled their front office, but didn’t change direction.—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The practice schedule has also been shuffled, sleep is being emphasized and the team will travel on a larger plane.—
Haley Sawyer,
Oc Register,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
There was no ninth-inning drama like Saturday in Baltimore, when Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the bullpen fumbled away a chance at a victory.—
Doug Padilla,
Oc Register,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Progressives fumbled their 2022 campaigns for the seat, when multiple candidates with left-wing credentials knocked each other out, letting Goldman prevail with just 26% of the vote.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
According to the police report following Trigg's death, the boy tripped while playing with an inflatable chair and was in the water for nearly seven minutes before being found by his father.—
Wren Smetana,
AZCentral.com,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Finn simply tripped in an environment that was not set up to be safe for him.—
Bridget Fogarty,
jsonline.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That certainly looked to be the case as the Indianapolis Colts stomped the Miami Dolphins 33-8 in the regular-season opener.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Many in Hollywood were dubious as to whether Universal and Amblin could reboot the Jurassic franchise for a third time, and birth a new trilogy more than three decades after Steven Spielberg’s dinos first stomped onto the big screen in 1993’s Jurassic Park.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The attempt was tipped and brought in by Locke, who slipped loose into the secondary before taking off for a 64-yard touchdown reception.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Figure Technology Solutions — The blockchain lender slipped 1%.—
Michelle Fox,
CNBC,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Hours after the initial shipping containers fell into the ocean, more containers tumbled onto the port side.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Synopsys — Shares tumbled 35% after the semiconductor tool supplier posted disappointing fiscal third-quarter results.—
Fred Imbert,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbled. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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