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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 In July 1990, four children stumbled upon the body, which was unable to be identified due to the severity of her injuries. — Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 2 Sep. 2026 That's what happened when Kerr stumbled upon the three grizzly bears, and the adult female wasn't pleased to see him. — David Hookstead Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026 But most of the attempts to scale sodium-ion cells stumbled over short lifespans and poor heat tolerance. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026 In her attempt to get away, the woman stumbled and injured her leg, screaming for help the whole time, police said. — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026 And this is the world that Frank Sierawski, the cancer survivor, stumbled into. — Vito Emanuel, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026 The Miami Dolphins stumbled through a lopsided preseason loss to the New York Giants, sustained a key injury and continued sorting through roster questions before the season opener. — Jeff Kleinman, Miami Herald, 24 Aug. 2026 Most injuries occurred as residents were tossed from beds or stumbled in the dark; trains and airport links were briefly disrupted, a Tokyo water main burst, and hundreds lost power. — Mari Yamaguchi, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026 After doing her own research online, the mom stumbled upon Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD). — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE, 23 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbled

Verb

Rincker, a German immigrant, was known for casting the bell that hung from the first Cook County Courthouse, which was felled by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

— Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
Frightened that she may be plagued by the same mental illness that felled her mom, Gemma stubbornly refuses to believe anything is wrong.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of fell

Verb

Salas struggled offensively throughout 2024, missed almost all of 2025 because of a stress reaction in his back and plummeted on prospect lists as a result.

— Dennis Lin, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Cuba’s daily grind takes its toll The day before classes started, Yurima Izaguirre struggled to pull up last year’s school uniform on the youngest of her three children.

— Dánica Coto, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of struggled

Verb

In the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, many studios either shuffled their product directly to streaming or waited a mere 17 days for their films to become available to buy or rent at home.

— Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
For nearly a year and a half, he was shuffled around detention centers in Texas, Arizona, Louisiana and Florida, until arriving in the Alexandria International Airport in mid-August.

— Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of shuffled

Verb

The company, which offers credit cards used to make rent and mortgage payments, had fumbled a critical transition, leading to confusion and financial stress for its customers.

— Andy Kroll, ProPublica, 31 Aug. 2026
On his second drive, Tagovailoa fumbled the snap from center and the Dolphins recovered.

— Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

When the horse tripped, the animal fell and rolled over on top of her, according to the outlets.

— Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
The fourth hour began haphazardly as the Today With Jenna & Sheinelle camera operator tripped over a chair during their intro segment.

— Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Aug. 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

Zscaler — The cloud security company's stock slipped nearly 2% despite its earnings beat.

— Michelle Fox, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026
The Office Romance star slipped on a stack of Fope’s gold mesh bracelets, topping off her ensemble with a Chanel handbag and Cartier earrings from the jeweler’s signature Panthère collection.

— Hannah Malach, InStyle, 3 Sep. 2026