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
Weiss, best known for her work as an opinion journalist and the launch of her site The Free Press, has stumbled in her new role in large part due to a lack of experience with TV operations.
—
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 9 June 2026
In the fall of 1995, hunters stumbled on Josette’s bones in the woods near rural Carmel, an hour north of the Bronx.
—Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2026
More recently, a German teenager stumbled across an ancient Greek coin, marking the first such find ever recorded in Berlin.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 8 June 2026
Others, like Michael Fisher and Claire Rimatzki from Detroit, stumbled upon the event.
—Bri Buckley, CBS News, 7 June 2026
Chip stocks, however, stumbled; bitcoin is hovering at its weakest since the war began, private credit is throwing off sparks again — and a flesh-eating parasite has turned up in Texas.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 5 June 2026
Soto, wounded, stumbled into the Wingstop seeking help.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 3 June 2026
The less-than-truckload (LTL) company stumbled out of the gate in its public market debut on the New York Stock Exchange, seeing its stock decline more than 9 percent after opening the day at more than $165 per share.
—Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 2 June 2026
Howard, who was 17 at the time, and his friend, 15-year-old Luke Brookhouser, stumbled upon Metz’s property near Conifer while searching for a spot to take homecoming photos in September 2024.
—Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 1 June 2026
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 9 June 2026
In the fall of 1995, hunters stumbled on Josette’s bones in the woods near rural Carmel, an hour north of the Bronx.
—Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2026
More recently, a German teenager stumbled across an ancient Greek coin, marking the first such find ever recorded in Berlin.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 8 June 2026
Others, like Michael Fisher and Claire Rimatzki from Detroit, stumbled upon the event.
—Bri Buckley, CBS News, 7 June 2026
Chip stocks, however, stumbled; bitcoin is hovering at its weakest since the war began, private credit is throwing off sparks again — and a flesh-eating parasite has turned up in Texas.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 5 June 2026
Soto, wounded, stumbled into the Wingstop seeking help.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 3 June 2026
The less-than-truckload (LTL) company stumbled out of the gate in its public market debut on the New York Stock Exchange, seeing its stock decline more than 9 percent after opening the day at more than $165 per share.
—Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 2 June 2026
Howard, who was 17 at the time, and his friend, 15-year-old Luke Brookhouser, stumbled upon Metz’s property near Conifer while searching for a spot to take homecoming photos in September 2024.
—Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 1 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbled
Verb
-
Haas wasn't sure what disease could have felled a buck so clearly in its prime.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
4 Dec. 2025
-
Yet Christine’s fate took a devastating turn when her father died, her husband was felled by the plague a year later.—
Diana Arterian,
Literary Hub,
4 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Jalen Brunson has 19 points to lead New York, but the Knicks have struggled to avoid fouls on defense and struggled to make foul shots on the other end.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
11 June 2026
-
Rushing out onto the beach, George struggled to comprehend what had happened.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Patrons shuffled out of the nearby restaurant into cars.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
6 Dec. 2025
-
Between work, family and everything else on your plate, taking care of yourself often gets shuffled to the bottom of the list.—
Taylor Haught,
Miami Herald,
4 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Maye tossed eight interceptions and fumbled eight times last season.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
10 June 2026
-
Dart fumbled a shotgun snap on the goal line in a situational period later in the practice.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
Britain’s Katie Boulter and Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez tripped over Lacoste signs during their early round matches.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
7 June 2026
-
Drawing 0-0 at home with Brentford in March, the visitors should have conceded a penalty and been put down to 10 men when Tavernier was tripped in the area by Michael Kayode.—
Graham Scott,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Less than two hours after sunrise, with the shadows still blue and slanting hard in a dense growth of balsam firs and spruces, the baby bird blundered into a fine black net strung along the ridgeline of Mount Mansfield, at 4,393 feet Vermont’s tallest mountain.—
Madeline Bodin,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
Two suspects are being sought in a horrific homicide in which police allege a mother of four was beaten with bricks and stomped to death during a robbery in North Philadelphia.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
10 June 2026
-
The accordionist stomped sideways under the stage lights, sweat running down his temples, looking like Angus Young sans schoolboy shorts.—
Katie Thornton,
Harpers Magazine,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
There’s a local doctor, Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), who has slipped into alcoholic despair since his wife left him, and Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), a best-selling author and self-professed recovering liberal, whose rightward drift has led him to write an unreadable book about Wicks’s life.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
11 Dec. 2025
-
With two helpers beside her, Machado slipped through every control undetected, arriving at the coast just before midnight.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
11 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbled. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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