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
And arguing with the benefits of a difficult tuneup game can be a useless point, especially as Napier stumbled in from a practice that ran almost 10 minutes long, gearing up for USF.
—
Noah White, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
Closer Bryan Abreu stumbled but has earned the benefit of the doubt with the dominance he’s displayed.
—Chandler Rome, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
But after a positive start to the 2025 season, the club stumbled, recently snapping an eight-game winless streak.
—Molly Geary, Sportico.com, 4 Sep. 2025
When that Allie stumbled and nearly fell during the film’s first 20 minutes, this Ali panicked thinking her new friend might get kicked out.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
The officials entered the woods and stumbled upon a metallic, glowing object.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
Fisher was a straight-A student from the San Fernando Valley who stumbled into the modeling business after a chance encounter with an alleged mobster.
—Peter White, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025
Frito-Lay was long a growth driver for PepsiCo, but the company’s snack division has also stumbled.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Brian Wong, a surgeon-engineer at the University of California, Irvine, stumbled upon a possible solution about a decade ago.
—Meghie Rodrigues, IEEE Spectrum, 2 Sep. 2025
Noah White, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
Closer Bryan Abreu stumbled but has earned the benefit of the doubt with the dominance he’s displayed.
—Chandler Rome, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
But after a positive start to the 2025 season, the club stumbled, recently snapping an eight-game winless streak.
—Molly Geary, Sportico.com, 4 Sep. 2025
When that Allie stumbled and nearly fell during the film’s first 20 minutes, this Ali panicked thinking her new friend might get kicked out.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
The officials entered the woods and stumbled upon a metallic, glowing object.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
Fisher was a straight-A student from the San Fernando Valley who stumbled into the modeling business after a chance encounter with an alleged mobster.
—Peter White, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025
Frito-Lay was long a growth driver for PepsiCo, but the company’s snack division has also stumbled.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Brian Wong, a surgeon-engineer at the University of California, Irvine, stumbled upon a possible solution about a decade ago.
—Meghie Rodrigues, IEEE Spectrum, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbled
Verb
-
When a mother tree is felled, the survival rate of many of its seedlings may be drastically reduced, a process not unlike the reciprocal feedback loop of Yggdrasill, whose deterioration in response to discord in the nine realms spells cosmic collapse.—
Ellen Walker,
JSTOR Daily,
3 Sep. 2025
-
There are also beautifully observed moments toward the end with Dorotea and Riccardo; and a moving reckoning with death when Mariano’s favorite horse, a stallion named Elvis, is felled by illness and the president refuses to end his suffering by having the animal put to sleep.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Most notably, the Chargers struggled to contain Mahomes in the pocket.—
Jesse Newell,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Fighter jets have long struggled to integrate AI into radar systems due to limited space, power, and processing capacity.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Over the past two months, he’s been shuffled through three detention centers despite attempts to pay a bond set by the immigration judge.—
Ashleigh Fields,
The Hill,
22 Aug. 2025
-
On Wednesday Ahn slowly shuffled to a bridge leading to the Korean Peninsula’s Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), pleading for permission to cross the zone – one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world – and enter North Korea.—
Gawon Bae,
CNN Money,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
After leading 14-0 at halftime, Rancho Bernardo fumbled on their second-half opening drive before forcing Brawley to turn the ball over on downs on the ensuing drive.—
The San Diego Union Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 Aug. 2025
-
Fresno State transfer Malik Sherrod fumbled after catching a pass on the Broncos’ first drive.—
Rachel Roberts,
Idaho Statesman,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Finn simply tripped in an environment that was not set up to be safe for him.—
Bridget Fogarty,
jsonline.com,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The mascot tripped in the end zone and its head popped off.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Many in Hollywood were dubious as to whether Universal and Amblin could reboot the Jurassic franchise for a third time, and birth a new trilogy more than three decades after Steven Spielberg’s dinos first stomped onto the big screen in 1993’s Jurassic Park.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
-
People expecting a state championship rematch between Benet and Marist in the Crimson Classic finals had those plans stomped upon Saturday when Lockport ended up surprising the Redwings 29-27, 18-25, 15-10 in the semifinals.—
Jeff Vorva,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
One of Bonacini’s study patients, a San Francisco resident in his 40s, slipped through this crack.—
Jia H. Jung,
Mercury News,
1 Sep. 2025
-
And midway through the half, Cristian Roldan slipped Jesús Ferreira into a pocket of space.—
Henry Bushnell,
New York Times,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Stellantis tumbled more than 5%.—
Benzinga,
Freep.com,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Constellation Brands shares tumbled more than 6% after the Modelo and Corona parent company cut its outlook for the fiscal year.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbled. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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