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 Ticket The numbers favor Dallas It’s been a while since the Stars have stumbled against the Devils.
—
Sportsday Staff, Dallas Morning News, 23 Mar. 2026
Florida stumbled so badly that the Gators fired coach Billy Napier.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2026
And yet Minnesota somehow stumbled into someone who could be much better than that – for effectively none of the cost.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 14 Mar. 2026
King stumbled just once, at the end.
—Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 13 Mar. 2026
When Frank Hall constructed the original building in the late 19th century, his crew stumbled upon a vein of gold—but much to his dismay, his request to dig into it was denied by town officials.
—Chelsea Brasted, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026
In Season 1, the publication of Lee’s latest exposé – a deep dive into the powerful Washberg family – is immediately followed by the suspicious suicide of Dale Washberg (Tim Blake Nelson), and Lee knows he’s stumbled onto something big.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 11 Mar. 2026
But the Illini stumbled by losing four of six after that before winning their final two against bottom-dwellers Oregon and Maryland.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
His replacement Michael Kovala kept Japan scoreless through seven innings but stumbled in the eighth and picked up the loss.
—ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
Sportsday Staff, Dallas Morning News, 23 Mar. 2026
Florida stumbled so badly that the Gators fired coach Billy Napier.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2026
And yet Minnesota somehow stumbled into someone who could be much better than that – for effectively none of the cost.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 14 Mar. 2026
King stumbled just once, at the end.
—Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 13 Mar. 2026
When Frank Hall constructed the original building in the late 19th century, his crew stumbled upon a vein of gold—but much to his dismay, his request to dig into it was denied by town officials.
—Chelsea Brasted, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026
In Season 1, the publication of Lee’s latest exposé – a deep dive into the powerful Washberg family – is immediately followed by the suspicious suicide of Dale Washberg (Tim Blake Nelson), and Lee knows he’s stumbled onto something big.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 11 Mar. 2026
But the Illini stumbled by losing four of six after that before winning their final two against bottom-dwellers Oregon and Maryland.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
His replacement Michael Kovala kept Japan scoreless through seven innings but stumbled in the eighth and picked up the loss.
—ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbled
Verb
-
With a hollow interior trunk, Stumpy was among 158 trees felled in 2024 as part of a project aimed at shoring up a sea wall near the National Mall.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
25 Mar. 2026
-
And to be sure, there were winds and rain strong enough to fell several trees, flood a few roads, and knock out power in some Maryland and Virginia suburbs.—
Scott Simon,
NPR,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Hitting was a major concern last regular season for the Rangers, who got middling production in terms of home runs (18th) and RBIs (19th) and struggled to consistently get on base, ranking 26th in batting average and OBP.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 Mar. 2026
-
The facility has faced growing scrutiny from immigration lawyers and advocates, who say children there have struggled to access adequate medical care and education in an environment where lights remain on around the clock and officers stand guard.—
Mike Hixenbaugh,
NBC news,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Royals shuffled their outfield this offseason.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
26 Mar. 2026
-
The living room has been moved to the second floor in the plans and other rooms were shuffled around, though the project’s size and general design remain roughly the same.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Storm had the Inter&Co Stadium crowd of 11,127 people on their feet early after Columbus fumbled the opening kickoff and safety Josh Minkins jumped on it to give the Storm their initial possession inside the 30-yard line.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Mar. 2026
-
As the years went by, judges complained that the city’s in-house lawyers had fumbled key casework.—
Joe Mahr,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This year’s Loons have tripped out of the gate, with only four out of a possible 12 points.—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
20 Mar. 2026
-
That tripped an alarm bell, and the marketing firm owner ended the call.—
Julia Ainsley,
NBC news,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The growing political noise raises questions about whether Netflix, which has had one of the cleanest business strategies and investment stories in media, blundered into its first big M&A swing.—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stomped around here like rabid Goths wearing bearskin vests.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Frustration boiled over on the Huskies’ sideline as Hurley stomped his foot and earned a technical foul from referee James Breeding with 12 and a half minutes left in the half.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But their 20th shot counted when Foligno – playing in his first game back after missing 14 of the previous 16 games – slipped a low shot past the goalie after linemate Yakov Trenin had fought off a challenge from a Florida defender to get Foligno the puck.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Google parent Alphabet fell nearly 9% and Microsoft sank almost 7% this week, while Nvidia and Amazon slipped about 3% each.—
Ari Levy,
CNBC,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stumbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbled. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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