STUMBLES Synonyms: 166 Similar and Opposite Words

stumbles 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of stumble

as in falls

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 struggles

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

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as in shuffles

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

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as in fumbles

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

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stumbles

2 of 2

noun

plural of stumble

as in mistakes

an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy was his hurtful remark a regrettable stumble, or was it made with artful intention?

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in tumbles

the act of going down from an upright position suddenly and involuntarily has bones so brittle that a minor stumble could result in a serious break

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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 stumbles

Verb

Jaelin Kauff is easily through after her quarterfinal opponent Anastassiya Gordodko stumbles. —

Sean Nevin, NBC news, 14 Feb. 2026 The expressive and excitable young girl stumbles along, while the wary grown-up remains controlled and refined — even though both are completely lost. —

Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2026 Video from a neighbor’s Ring camera shows a man identified by police as Soto pulling a pistol, then chasing Morello while continuing to shoot and pulling the trigger at least twice after Morello stumbles and falls to the ground. —

Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026 Stamos, who played Uncle Jesse on the eight-season-long Full House, stumbles his way through an audition for Will Hunting, played by Matt Damon in the original Good Will Hunting movie but by Affleck in the Dunkin' ad. —

Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Feb. 2026 Repeatedly, the project seems to transcend the projects, defying gravity in its poetic depiction of how this resilient, supportive community comes together around Lil Ant, stepping in where his father stumbles to embrace the boy. —

Peter Debruge, Variety, 31 Jan. 2026 When the Broward School Board stumbles, everybody feels it. —

Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 24 Jan. 2026 Fortunately, the charisma of the show's stars – such as Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, and Dominic Purcell – work overtime to compensate for the noticeable shortcomings, keeping the viewers invested in what's on screen even as the series stumbles through an initial and very public identity crisis. —

Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 21 Jan. 2026 Take the quiz here … RANDOM RICHES – Man stumbles onto rare diamond treasure during Arkansas park trip with family. —

FOXNews.com, 9 Jan. 2026

Noun

Stoddard credited her team with helping her after the early stumbles. —

Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 21 Feb. 2026 Around that time, public demonstrations of the humanoids often drew skepticism, such as a robot marathon in April that made headlines for stumbles, crashes and breakdowns. —

Dylan Butts,matthew Chin, CNBC, 20 Feb. 2026 The stumbles become part of the narrative rather than disqualifying moments. —

Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 20 Feb. 2026 But when silver stumbles, those same stocks can fall even faster. —

Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026 The voters of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Florida, however (with an assist from James Comey and Clinton’s own stumbles), put an end to those plans. —

David Remnick, New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2026 The greats who've fallen before The similarity of athletes' stumbles at the Olympics can be uncanny. —

Brian Mann, NPR, 15 Feb. 2026 While several runs appear smooth and effortless, others expose the limits of the hardware, including stumbles and the loss of a foot covering after a hard landing. —

Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 9 Feb. 2026 Simi Valley has put its last season’s stumbles behind it and is preparing for a tough Notre Dame Academy squad. —

Justin Vigil Zuniga, Daily News, 8 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbles

Verb

March falls within the start of strawberry season, so what better way to honor the juicy fruit than to wear them on your nails.

— Christina Perrier, InStyle, 21 Feb. 2026
As the share of its imports coming from China falls and Southeast Asian countries pick up the slack, shipments are spending more days in transit time, bringing pressure from retailers to make that up at the docks.

— Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 20 Feb. 2026