Synonyms of stumbles

stumbles 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of stumble

1

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• falls
• trips
• slips
• tumbles
• topples
• collapses
• plops
• crashes
• plunges
• slides
• skids
• drops
• crumples
• plunks
• plummets
• precipitates
• plonks
• slumps (over)
• keels
• wipes out
• free-falls
• nose-dives
• flumps

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rises
• stands (up)
• gets up
• uprises

2

as in struggles

to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually

stumbled twice while she was reciting the "Gettysburg Address"

Synonyms & Similar Words

• struggles
• trudges
• shuffles
• flounders
• limps
• blunders
• lurches
• fumbles
• jogs
• plods
• lumbers
• bumbles
• falters
• staggers
• sways
• flogs
• wallows
• totters
• reels
• shambles
• muddles
• teeters
• welters

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• glides
• flies
• sails
• zooms
• zips
• coasts
• kilts

3

as in shuffles

to move heavily or clumsily

the tipsy revelers left the path and wearily stumbled through the tangled undergrowth

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shuffles
• stomps
• lurches
• trudges
• barges
• flounders
• drags
• sloughs
• staggers
• shambles
• hauls
• clumps
• weaves
• lumbers
• scuffs
• plods
• lumps
• pounds
• stamps
• stumps
• slogs
• tramps
• scuffles
• flops
• galumphs
• flogs
• sways
• tromps
• waddles
• totters
• blunders
• wobbles
• careens
• reels
• teeters
• wabbles
• dodders

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• glides
• slides
• waltzes
• whisks
• hangs
• floats
• drifts
• hovers
• wafts
• breezes
• coasts
• poises

4

as in fumbles

to make a mistake

that network announcer rarely stumbles when he's on the air

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fumbles
• trips
• blunders
• errs
• nods
• flubs
• fluffs
• mistakes
• slips up
• misunderstands
• lays an egg
• drops the ball
• goofs (up)
• screws up
• fouls up
• boobs
• botches
• bungles
• louses up
• messes (up)
• misjudges
• miscalculates
• mangles
• murders
• mishandles
• misinterprets
• bobbles
• misconstrues
• misconceives
• muffs
• miscounts
• miscues
• butchers
• foozles
• misdeems
• misgauges

stumbles

2 of 2

noun

plural of stumble

1

as in mistakes

an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy

was his hurtful remark a regrettable stumble, or was it made with artful intention?

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mistakes
• blunders
• errors
• fumbles
• trips
• flubs
• missteps
• miscues
• slips
• inaccuracies
• goofs
• faults
• bobbles
• gaffes
• bricks
• fluffs
• lapses
• gaffs
• screwups
• slipups
• clangers
• oversights
• clinkers
• boobs
• pratfalls
• boo-boos
• bloopers
• snafus
• misunderstandings
• howlers
• miscalculations
• misstatements
• bloomers
• boners
• misjudgments
• misreadings
• misconceptions
• misinterpretations
• foul-ups
• misconstructions
• misdescriptions
• misimpressions
• misapprehensions
• miscomprehensions

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• accuracies
• precisions
• exactitudes
• perfections
• infallibilities
• inerrancies

2

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• falls
• tumbles
• spills
• slips
• trips
• slides
• dives
• plunges
• skids
• missteps
• pratfalls
• headers
• free-falls
• descents

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of stumbles

Verb

The dejected actor stumbles over to a marketplace to buy a drink, shoplift a lighter, and strike out with a lottery ticket. —Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 3 Sep. 2025

Every founder stumbles—some in a very public fashion. —Samantha Reynolds, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025

Directed by Carl Franklin, Out of Time is a dark, funny, sexy offering about an alcoholic Florida cop who stumbles into a series of messes and has to maneuver himself out. —Tim Grierson, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025

While Palantir aced its most recent earnings report, its high valuation could exacerbate a selloff if the company stumbles in the future, said Morningstar’s Giarelli. —Carmen Reinicke, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2025

Two colleagues, bouncing from prompt to prompt, nudging each other along until someone stumbles onto a key that finally turns a lock. —Dan Rockmore, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2025

While thumbing through early 20th century author Harriet Ross Cloquitt’s 1933 edition of The Savannah Cookbook, King stumbles upon a recipe for jambalaya. —Elizabeth Wellington, Bon Appetit Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025

However, not part of the practical location was a secret, unmarked room that Wednesday stumbles upon, which may hold the answers to the mystery. —Daron James, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2025

Inspired by real events, 52nd State centers on Felipe, a disillusioned Costa Rican IT worker who stumbles into a high-stakes scam operation that preys on vulnerable Americans. —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2025

Noun

Those early stumbles may have been a blessing in disguise. —Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2025

In the second installment of the franchise, Odenkirk returns as Hutch Mansell, the mild-mannered suburban husband and dad with a dark past stumbles into trouble while taking his family on vacation. —William Lee, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025

Sweetgreen’s stumbles have reinforced doubts about whether premium salad chains can thrive in today’s value-conscious dining environment, especially as hybrid work saps the desk-lunch crowd and consumers search for more affordable options. —Preston Fore, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2025

Leadership stumbles, hidden value is ignored, and then the pressure mounts. —Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025