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
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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 Avs stumbled out of the starting blocks the past two seasons.
—
Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 8 Nov. 2025
Three years ago, two Sudanese men stumbled into a police station in the desert town of Tazirbu.
—Mick Krever, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
During the conference, which was being broadcast on Fox News and livestreamed on multiple platforms, an individual stumbled forward and subsequently fell to the ground as Dave Lilly, the CEO of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, began to speak about the new price reductions in weight loss drugs.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Nov. 2025
Although the discovery has only now been formally studied, cavers from the Czech Speleological Society first stumbled upon the phenomenon in 2022 during an expedition in Vromoner Canyon.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Uber reported strong growth in its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, but stumbled on the bottom line after absorbing a $479 million charge for what the company described as undisclosed legal and regulatory matters.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2025
Hase stumbled forward, sliced the ball with her left foot and closed her eyes.
—Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Video from the scene showed smoke rising from the wreckage as Ramesh stumbled away with minor visible injuries.
—Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2025
Buffs have stumbled after a 4-0 start and struggle to maintain AFC East supremacy over the Patriots.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2025
Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 8 Nov. 2025
Three years ago, two Sudanese men stumbled into a police station in the desert town of Tazirbu.
—Mick Krever, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
During the conference, which was being broadcast on Fox News and livestreamed on multiple platforms, an individual stumbled forward and subsequently fell to the ground as Dave Lilly, the CEO of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, began to speak about the new price reductions in weight loss drugs.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Nov. 2025
Although the discovery has only now been formally studied, cavers from the Czech Speleological Society first stumbled upon the phenomenon in 2022 during an expedition in Vromoner Canyon.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Uber reported strong growth in its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, but stumbled on the bottom line after absorbing a $479 million charge for what the company described as undisclosed legal and regulatory matters.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2025
Hase stumbled forward, sliced the ball with her left foot and closed her eyes.
—Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Video from the scene showed smoke rising from the wreckage as Ramesh stumbled away with minor visible injuries.
—Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2025
Buffs have stumbled after a 4-0 start and struggle to maintain AFC East supremacy over the Patriots.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbled
Verb
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The at-bats were brief and uneventful, the opposite of the approach that carried Toronto to this stage and felled Snell in Game 1.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
-
That says a lot about the 2025 Red Sox, who were a top offensive team in many metrics, but were also felled by their bats in crucial spots throughout the year and postseason.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Footage of the crash showed a towering wave of smoke and flames billowing skyward near the airport after the low-flying plane struggled to climb and then erupted into an enormous fireball on impact.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Memphis struggled out of the gate on Friday night against a motivated Tulane Green Wave team that suffered an upset loss to UTSA in Week 10.—
Jordan Sigler,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Empty boxes were stacked along a side wall in the locker room as players shuffled in and out to pack up a season’s worth of shirts and jerseys and cleats and memorabilia.—
Nicki Jhabvala,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
-
First, the sophomore shuffled back into coverage after showing A-gap pressure to intercept a Bryce Underwood pass over the middle of the field, ending a key fourth-quarter drive.—
David Eckert,
Austin American Statesman,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Ball security The Hurricanes have fumbled the ball four times in the past two games and lost two of them — one apiece by Malachi Toney (first round against Texas A&M) and Fletcher (quarterfinal against Ohio State).—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Kennedy fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his phone, the source of the noise.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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George slipped and tripped Brown, leading to a go-ahead Utah layup in a game Boston lost 105-103.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
-
On another occasion, a group of students tripped him to the ground, put a cheese crown made of paper on his head, and then taunted him with actual cheese.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Jenkins brutally stomped and punched Coto, who was severely injured and put on life support.—
Tony Aiello,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The disarmingly handsome comic adopted the delivery of a smarmy newsman and deadpanned a joke about the hatching of a baby sandpiper, a triumph for the zoo where it was born, until the bird was stomped to death by a baby hippo born a day earlier.—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN Money,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Aftershocks are typically minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.—
William B. Davis,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Stevenson slipped tackles on his season-long 56-yard run and 20-yarder, bouncing off hits and running with power and vision not seen from him since September.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Its stock tumbled more than 11% this week after the company’s earnings report on Monday.—
Blair Bao,
CNBC,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The company’s shares, which have soared by more than 160% this year, tumbled by more than 8% despite the company’s quarterly results beating Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations.—
Steve Kopack,
NBC news,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbled. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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