as in muttering
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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
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
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of stumbling
Andrew Adeolu, CBS News, 7 Mar. 2026
How Species Actually Get Discovered Now The popular image of species discovery involves an explorer stumbling across a strange creature in an untouched jungle.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 5 Mar. 2026
How New Species Actually Get Discovered The popular image of species discovery involves an explorer stumbling across a strange creature in an untouched jungle.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2026
Footage of the shooting showed that while Bils was still stumbling after being shot, Russell put his gun back in its holster.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026
Yas is not stumbling into evil unwittingly or being forced by circumstance.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2026
Borneo The music therapist became the first person ever voted out of Survivor after being considered the weakest member of the Tagi tribe due to her stumbling in the immunity challenge.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
Accountability, in turn, means that high standards and proper execution move forward without stumbling.
—K.h. Koehler, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
Mercader pushed Trotsky to the floor and, running and stumbling, escaped from the room.
—Josh Ireland, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
Verb
The man then tripped, stumbling to the ground.
—Andrew Adeolu, CBS News, 7 Mar. 2026
How Species Actually Get Discovered Now The popular image of species discovery involves an explorer stumbling across a strange creature in an untouched jungle.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 5 Mar. 2026
How New Species Actually Get Discovered The popular image of species discovery involves an explorer stumbling across a strange creature in an untouched jungle.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2026
Footage of the shooting showed that while Bils was still stumbling after being shot, Russell put his gun back in its holster.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026
Yas is not stumbling into evil unwittingly or being forced by circumstance.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2026
Borneo The music therapist became the first person ever voted out of Survivor after being considered the weakest member of the Tagi tribe due to her stumbling in the immunity challenge.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
Accountability, in turn, means that high standards and proper execution move forward without stumbling.
—K.h. Koehler, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
Mercader pushed Trotsky to the floor and, running and stumbling, escaped from the room.
—Josh Ireland, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbling
Verb
-
Last week, the Washington State Department of Health halted the recreational and commercial harvest of clams, oysters and mussels in Drayton Harbor after receiving multiple reports of people falling ill after consuming raw shellfish from the area.—
Jasmine Mendez
Follow,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
-
In the meantime, racecourse attendances remain below pre-pandemic levels and the industry’s costs are rising, while betting revenue is falling.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
No workers for mundane tasks Diez revealed that manufacturers worldwide are struggling to find laborers for highly repetitive physical tasks.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Dogs generally aren’t allowed on cruises, but after struggling to find a flight that would allow pets in the cabin, Morris decided to bring Monty across the pond in the storied ocean liner’s kennels – one of the only ways cruise travelers' furry friends can sail the high seas.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Green Bay Packers are doing some shuffling at cornerback by adding Benjamin St-Juste while informing Nate Hobbs of a plan to release him a year after signing him to the $48 million, four-year contract, according to two people with knowledge of the decisions.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 Mar. 2026
-
One of the early schools to change leagues in the NCAA's conference shuffling era, Boston College left the Big East for the ACC in 2005 but has struggled to find success in its revenue sports.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Since the first release in December, critics have accused the administration of fumbling the rollout and withholding too many documents.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Since the first release in December, critics have accused the administration of fumbling the rollout and withholding too many documents.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
That change eventually happened in the technical area, with Igor Tudor replacing Frank, but the coach with a reputation for breathing new life into faltering clubs on the continent is having no such impact in north London.—
Elias Burke,
New York Times,
7 Mar. 2026
-
First-time nominee Jordan could ride this wave in a now wide-open Best Actor race, as Timothée Chalamet has been faltering.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Less than a minute into the game, Wild defenseman Brock Faber went to the penalty box for tripping and the Rangers converted on the ensuing power play.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
15 Mar. 2026
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Meanwhile, Avantika is the comedic standout as Bible-thumper Grace, who has no trouble taking down full grown men while tripping on drugs throughout much of the film, providing endless levity to the most dire of scenarios.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Yabusele started Monday and immediately racked up two blundering fouls in four minutes.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Our party walked single file to minimize the chance of blundering onto private property.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Expect to see crunching tackles, stomping recovery runs and heroic blocks from a 22-year-old centre-back who will be a leader for his country at their first World Cup.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2026
-
So, let’s circle back to the original question on stomping.—
Adam Cohen,
Oklahoman,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbling. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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