STUMBLED Synonyms: 124 Similar and Opposite Words

stumbled

verb

past tense of stumble

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in struggled

to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually stumbled twice while she was reciting the "Gettysburg Address"

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in shuffled

to move heavily or clumsily the tipsy revelers left the path and wearily stumbled through the tangled undergrowth

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as in fumbled

to make a mistake that network announcer rarely stumbles when he's on the air

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of stumbled But if the numbers hold up, Orange County may have stumbled onto something much bigger than baseball. — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 July 2026 After departing Ecuador en route to El Segundo, members of the crew stumbled upon an unexpected find inside the ship’s garbage — trash bags filled with cocaine, 430 pounds of it. — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026 In fact, many were tourists who stumbled on it after getting off the Amtrak, wanting to see the iconic train station. — Kansas City Star, 11 July 2026 One day, in Korea, near the Chosin Reservoir, his marine division stumbled into a surprise attack by a hundred thousand Chinese infantry. — Literary Hub, 10 July 2026 Chipmakers have stumbled as some investors are taking profits after strong rallies. — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 9 July 2026 After extensive research online, Shahniani stumbled upon a voice acting profile for Mike Brassell, the ride’s original narrator. — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026 The exchange stumbled into penalties, and with a delicate touch, Yakin did his thing. — Phil Hay, New York Times, 8 July 2026 Miners flooded the dusty flats surrounding this area after three Irish prospectors, who had immigrated to Australia in the hopes of making their fortunes, accidentally stumbled across gold while looking for water in 1893. — Justin Meneguzzi, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbled

Verb

But the traps that felled Starmer lurk in most issues Burnham must tackle.

— Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
Spain came into the game unbeaten in 36 games and took the lead from the penalty spot when Lucas Digne swung a leg without looking and felled Lamine Yamal.

— Jack Lang, New York Times, 14 July 2026

Definition of fell

Verb

The 17 passengers and crew who lived told investigators everyone survived the landing, but many passengers struggled to locate life vests and the crew had a difficult time pulling out life rafts.

— Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 22 July 2026
Brayden Burries, Bucks While most of the vaunted crop of rookie guards from the NCAA ranks struggled, Burries was a glaring exception.

— John Hollinger, New York Times, 22 July 2026

Definition of struggled

Verb

The Giants scored the game’s first run in the top of the third when Mariners center fielder Luke Raley fumbled the ball on Bryce Eldridge’s single with runners on first and second.

— Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 19 July 2026
Basabe, 48, fumbled his way through the trial, often seeming confused about the legal proceedings.

— Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald, 15 July 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

Egypt had taken a surprising lead in the 15th minute, but Argentina was quickly given the chance to level the match when Haissem Hassan tripped Nicolás Tagliafico in the box moments later.

— Kaylah Jackson, NBC news, 8 July 2026
Argentina was quickly given the chance to level the match when Haissem Hassan tripped Nicolas Tagliafico in the box moments later.

— James Robson, Twin Cities, 7 July 2026

Definition of tripped

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

Definition of blundered

Verb

Cece got out of bed, put on a pair of fuzzy pink slippers, and stomped to her mother’s office.

— Jessica Contrera, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
On Monday night, a 39-year-old man wearing a Spurs jersey was stomped and punched after Game 3 while walking down West 47th Street, about 15 blocks from the arena.

— Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 14 June 2026

Definition of stomped

Verb

The stock has fallen about 20% in July and briefly slipped below its $135 IPO price on Wednesday for the first time.

— Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 17 July 2026
And little by little, Venezuela slipped off the front pages — even though, for millions of people, the work of rebuilding is just getting started.

— Cristina Guevara, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 July 2026