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
OpenAI, Google and Perplexity have rolled out research tools and agents for shopping, though some of those efforts have stumbled due to technical bugs or challenges with onboarding retailers.
—
Annie Palmer, CNBC, 27 May 2026
The Liberty have stumbled to a 3-4 record to start the season.
—Kels Dayton, Hartford Courant, 26 May 2026
The person saying this is not a media executive who stumbled into cricket.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 25 May 2026
While speaking with Vogue after the wedding, Wilson explained that the couple actually stumbled upon the venue while driving Tennessee backroads together.
—Danielle Minnetian , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 25 May 2026
But she’s stumbled into something even worse, human trafficking.
—Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
But when Jayne stumbled upon a listing for a 1968 trailer tucked inside Suffolk Pines Mobile Home Park in Westhampton Beach, the idea of homeownership suddenly felt possible.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 24 May 2026
In contrast, André Burakovsky and Artyom Levshunov stumbled through forgettable seasons.
—Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026
Love Island had shifted what had previously been an unshakable self-identification and stumbled into comic profundity.
—Anna Peele, Vulture, 20 May 2026
Annie Palmer, CNBC, 27 May 2026
The Liberty have stumbled to a 3-4 record to start the season.
—Kels Dayton, Hartford Courant, 26 May 2026
The person saying this is not a media executive who stumbled into cricket.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 25 May 2026
While speaking with Vogue after the wedding, Wilson explained that the couple actually stumbled upon the venue while driving Tennessee backroads together.
—Danielle Minnetian , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 25 May 2026
But she’s stumbled into something even worse, human trafficking.
—Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
But when Jayne stumbled upon a listing for a 1968 trailer tucked inside Suffolk Pines Mobile Home Park in Westhampton Beach, the idea of homeownership suddenly felt possible.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 24 May 2026
In contrast, André Burakovsky and Artyom Levshunov stumbled through forgettable seasons.
—Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026
Love Island had shifted what had previously been an unshakable self-identification and stumbled into comic profundity.
—Anna Peele, Vulture, 20 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbled
Verb
-
Piccotto effectively plays the regret of a mother forced to reckon with the loss of a child, the horror of engaging with that child again, while also grappling with her own role as a mother felled by the scourge of addiction.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
-
In a Western Conference Final where a few other key Colorado Avalanche players are already playing through injuries, the NHL’s leading goal scorer this season was felled trying to prevent someone else from scoring.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
25 May 2026
Verb
-
Notably, the agency completed more than 85% of its internal affairs investigations within 180 days, a mark the department had struggled to reach in recent years.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
28 May 2026
-
But privately, there were times Halverson struggled.—
Jourdan Rodrigue,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
While many of the brand’s lifestyle models are frequently shuffled in and out of production, the 9060 has held on as a staple of the brand’s lineup nearly four years after its retail debut.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
28 May 2026
-
He then was shuffled between immigration centers in California, Arizona and Louisiana — before landing in Equatorial Guinea almost six months ago.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Big shock, but the only goal came from an Arsenal corner as Riccardo Calafiori headed in a Rice delivery that was fumbled by Altay Bayindir (6ft 6in; 198cm).—
Art de Roché,
New York Times,
26 May 2026
-
Second baseman Luis Arraez had a chance to turn a double play on Montgomery’s grounder but fumbled the ball and had to settle for one out.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
24 May 2026
Verb
-
The Knicks — the same clumsy team that tripped over itself for most of this century — are going to the finals for the first time since 1999.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
26 May 2026
-
Darby tried a suicide dive, but tripped on the ropes and landed on the back of his neck for a scary landing.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
Verb
-
Rubio is the president’s top adviser on both national security and diplomacy at a moment when the United States has blundered into an unpopular war that appears to be a strategic catastrophe.—
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
-
Padres fielders blundered in three of his outings.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Finally, after my sister had been hacking away for three minutes or so, one man stood, stared, anger evident on his face, and stomped away.—
Tom Levenson,
Time,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
Oil prices rise, stocks fall over Hormuz deadlock Oil prices rose and stocks slipped on growing signs that the Strait of Hormuz was likely to remain all but shut for the foreseeable future.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
29 May 2026
-
Vaccination rates have slipped, and large, multistate outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases have inevitably come roaring back.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stumbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbled. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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