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 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 Back in 2021, Gina stumbled across Tamara’s Facebook post asking if anyone knew what happened to her mother. — Annalise Peterson, NBC news, 23 Aug. 2026 After doing her own research online, the mom stumbled upon Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD). — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE, 23 Aug. 2026 Then Sánchez’s eyes drifted up, his feet stumbled to a stop, and the ball bounced feet away from him on the turf. — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 20 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

Finally, the next season, Karlsson was shuffled frequently between Abbotsford and Vancouver and resided at the fringes of the NHL lineup.

— Thomas Drance, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Venegas scrolled through his phone while Penna shuffled past us to grab a drink from the office fridge.

— Christine Terrisse, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of shuffled

Verb

In the bathroom, my fingers fumbled in the inner pocket of my jacket, searching for the passport.

— Ledio Cakaj, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026
Despite rebounding with the wildly entertaining F9 in 2021, the Fast franchise fumbled the 10th chapter, which underperformed at the box office and didn’t exactly get fans hyped for the follow-up.

— Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

As the trio grew up on Nebraska high school fields, the Huskers tripped and slipped to a 7-17 record during their senior seasons.

— Mitch Sherman, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
During competition, a number of humanoid robots have tripped, collapsed, burst into flames or slammed into safety barriers and then been stretchered off the track.

— Anna Coren, CBS News, 24 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

Planned production was delayed by more than two years, while initial operational capability has slipped by roughly three and a half years to the third quarter of fiscal year 2030.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026
Finally, Brent Brennan’s first year at Arizona in 2024 went so badly (the Wildcats slipped from 10-3 to 4-8) there were rumors he might get fired before Year 2.

— Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026