1
as in falling
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in struggling
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 shuffling
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 fumbling
to make a mistake
that network announcer rarely stumbles when he's on the air
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in muttering
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stumbling
Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
Remaining unclaimed playoff spots The final two playoff spots in the Western Conference are up for grabs, with FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, the Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes all stumbling towards the finish line.
—Tom Bogert, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
The guy is stumbling around in the half-dark, but is that reasonable?
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
Crossing the threshold into this quiet oasis near the former Berlin Wall feels like stumbling across a secret.
—Diana Hubbell, Saveur, 16 Oct. 2025
But the researchers said stumbling upon the copious number of artifacts entangled in the historical nests took them by surprise.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2025
But the Jaguars scratched and clawed their way back into the game thanks to a Devin Lloyd 99-yard interception return for a touchdown and Trevor Lawrence stumbling into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Ross and the unit's six other horses are responsible for helping the police handle crowd control, whether its amid the thousands stumbling through Lower Broadway or the rush of 65,000 fans entering or leaving Nissan Stadium for a Titans game.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 3 Oct. 2025
In other words, Steve is a lot to play, and the Oscar-winner throws himself into every forlorn expression, every kindly mentoring session, every manic bit of rushing to and fro as chaos reigns around him, every stumbling step toward self-medicating into oblivion.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Footage of a father stumbling around, apparently carrying the headless body of his baby?
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
Remaining unclaimed playoff spots The final two playoff spots in the Western Conference are up for grabs, with FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, the Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes all stumbling towards the finish line.
—Tom Bogert, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
The guy is stumbling around in the half-dark, but is that reasonable?
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
Crossing the threshold into this quiet oasis near the former Berlin Wall feels like stumbling across a secret.
—Diana Hubbell, Saveur, 16 Oct. 2025
But the researchers said stumbling upon the copious number of artifacts entangled in the historical nests took them by surprise.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2025
But the Jaguars scratched and clawed their way back into the game thanks to a Devin Lloyd 99-yard interception return for a touchdown and Trevor Lawrence stumbling into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Ross and the unit's six other horses are responsible for helping the police handle crowd control, whether its amid the thousands stumbling through Lower Broadway or the rush of 65,000 fans entering or leaving Nissan Stadium for a Titans game.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 3 Oct. 2025
In other words, Steve is a lot to play, and the Oscar-winner throws himself into every forlorn expression, every kindly mentoring session, every manic bit of rushing to and fro as chaos reigns around him, every stumbling step toward self-medicating into oblivion.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbling
Verb
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This just makes the upcoming six-game homestand critical for the Wild in not falling too far behind in the Western Conference.—
Joe Smith,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
-
After the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time since December 2024 last month, experts projected that rates would continue falling—even if ever so slightly.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Six of their big chances came against struggling Forest, with Newcastle converting just one of those, while four more came in the wild 3-2 defeat against Liverpool.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Despite rapid growth, many marketers remain in the early stages of maturity—focused on automating legacy processes and struggling to measure ROI.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The technology included corrupt automatic shuffling machines that read cards and predicted which player had the best hand.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Card-reading contact lenses, X-ray poker tables, trays of poker chips that read cards, hacked shuffling machines that predict hands.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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However, his key mistakes included an interception, being sacked six times, and fumbling the ball away twice.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
-
There is no right moment, and the early scenes are about fumbling steps and the tentativeness of awkward new roles.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Linebacker Alex Anzalone was fined $12,172 for unnecessary roughness (striking/kicking/tripping/kneeing) and defensive tackle Tyler Lacy was hit with a $5,722 fine for the same reason.—
Anne Erickson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Oct. 2025
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Defensemen Nick Leddy and Dmitry Orlov took tripping penalties one minute apart in the first period.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Read All About It A Missouri woman was sentenced to more than four years in prison in a brazen and blundering attempt to steal Graceland from the family of Elvis Presley.—
Christian Orozco,
NBC news,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Apple so far has only been able to introduce a few basic AI features on the iPhone while failing to deliver on last year’s promise to deliver a more conversational and versatile version of its often-blundering virtual assistant Siri.—
Michael Liedtke,
Fortune,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The sound of her stomping up the staircase causes her parents to share a look of weary consternation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
-
But only the faithful know everything about the Mushroom Kingdom’s shell-stomping messiah.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Lebanon’s faltering banking system.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Global meat consumption is still climbing and alternative protein sales are faltering.—
Bloomberg News,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbling. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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