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

Colorado stumbled out of its Big 12 opener with a 23-13 loss to Baylor, dropping Coach Prime's Buffaloes to 2-2 and looking like (potentially) the worst team in the conference. — Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026

A couple of years later, Noah Kravitz of Oxford, unaware of Müyesser and Pokrovskiy’s solution, stumbled on Graham’s conjecture in an online archive of unsolved problems. — Shalma Wegsman, Quanta Magazine, 28 Sep. 2026

What the movie thrives on is the farcical and, all too often, horrendous reach of human error; surreal episodes are not cooked up but happened upon or stumbled over. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Before Quenneville arrived, the Ducks stumbled through a franchise-record seven straight losing seasons. — Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026

But like their European counterparts, American incumbents in the automobile and space industries have also stumbled. — Andrew McAfee, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2026

For Wilmot, the worst moment occurred when Sleepy stumbled to the edge of a huge chasm in the mine, turned and began to fall backward to his death. — Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2026

The women just appear to have gotten lost on their way to quadrille practice and stumbled into a Pina Bausch class. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026

The Broncos stumbled out of the blocks to a 17-3 deficit against Memphis last week, and the same happened on Saturday against South Dakota. — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 20 Sep. 2026