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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Recent Examples of stumbling
Reid Bg, Pitchfork, 28 Apr. 2026
Pack comfortable shoes and enjoy stumbling upon the secrets of the city.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Apr. 2026
Trump was pulled up and rushed out of the basement of the same hotel where Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in 1981, stumbling and falling before officers got him off the dais.
—Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 26 Apr. 2026
Jerry Jones stood from his seat at the press conference and almost fell off the stage, stumbling his way over, to shake Clinton’s hand.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Apr. 2026
As the tranquilizer kicked in, the bear climbed higher into the tree before stumbling down a branch, eventually losing its grip completely and falling into the net.
—Gina Kalsi, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
Lina cried out, stumbling backward.
—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
Apple has gotten off to a rough start in AI after stumbling in its efforts to deliver new features built on the technology, as promised nearly two years ago.
—Michael Liedtke, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026
He was taken into custody at the scene, after stumbling through several sobriety tests, police said.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
The title track, with its glassy melody and woozy, almost stumbling groove, deploys wholesome, end-of-the-night, comedown energy not unlike Bicep’s most beloved tracks.
—Reid Bg, Pitchfork, 28 Apr. 2026
Pack comfortable shoes and enjoy stumbling upon the secrets of the city.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Apr. 2026
Trump was pulled up and rushed out of the basement of the same hotel where Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in 1981, stumbling and falling before officers got him off the dais.
—Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 26 Apr. 2026
Jerry Jones stood from his seat at the press conference and almost fell off the stage, stumbling his way over, to shake Clinton’s hand.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Apr. 2026
As the tranquilizer kicked in, the bear climbed higher into the tree before stumbling down a branch, eventually losing its grip completely and falling into the net.
—Gina Kalsi, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
Lina cried out, stumbling backward.
—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
Apple has gotten off to a rough start in AI after stumbling in its efforts to deliver new features built on the technology, as promised nearly two years ago.
—Michael Liedtke, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026
He was taken into custody at the scene, after stumbling through several sobriety tests, police said.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 16 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbling
Verb
-
Bishop Moore junior Lucas Magro went 2-1 in the individual singles bracket and took the top seed, William Freshwater of Barron Collier, to a tiebreaker before falling 1-6, 6-1, (10-3).—
Buddy Collings,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Apr. 2026
-
But the Pistons were sloppy with the ball and careless overall in a 94-88 loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday night, falling behind 3-1 in their first-round Eastern Conference series.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
When Wagner was healthy in the first four games, Cunningham was still getting his points, but getting them inefficiently, struggling to find rhythm against Wagner’s length and discipline.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 May 2026
-
After struggling in his first game back — which Boston won by 32 points to take a 3-1 series lead — the 2023 NBA MVP was a defining figure in Games 5, 6 and 7.—
Zack Cox,
Hartford Courant,
3 May 2026
Verb
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There was major line shuffling overall by Cooper on this night, not just Kucherov, but tweaks to three lines, which ended up looking a little different than what was shown in pregame warmup.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
YoshimiO, sharing fellow ’90s icon Flea’s recent interest in the instrument, turns in a credible trumpet line during the track’s shuffling, exuberant second half.—
Reed Jackson,
SPIN,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The result leaves nearly every performer fumbling for traction in Serkis and Stoller’s muddy-yet-gutless cinematic sty.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
30 Apr. 2026
-
There was an emotional honesty that embraced the idea that growth isn’t always linear (see Andie from The Devil Wears Prada, fumbling a relationship with a good guy because her career came first).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Far from faltering, Lip-Bu Tan, who became chief executive of Intel in March 2025, is flourishing.—
Kamal Ahmed,
Fortune,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Milan supporters must hope that happens before the end of their faltering campaign.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Goncalves scored soon after the Lightning killed scoring star Nikita Kucherov's penalty for tripping Alexandre Carrier.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 May 2026
-
Such rules aim to prevent large data centers from tripping offline suddenly or overwhelming the grid due to severe load variability from AI workloads.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Verizon never would have gotten the chance to buy Yahoo’s online operations if not for the company’s perpetual blundering under seven different CEOs in 16 years.—
Michael Liedtke,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Verizon never would have gotten the chance to buy Yahoo’s online operations if not for the company’s perpetual blundering under seven different CEOs in 16 years.—
Michael Liedtke,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
That’s the sound of clogs slowly stomping back into the spotlight.—
Andrea Zendejas,
Vogue,
5 Apr. 2026
-
For pretty much every gamer alive today, those first few notes induce an almost Pavlovian response — sparking an urge to grab a controller on your lap that isn’t actually there and bringing to mind comfortable, warm memories of stomping Goombas and riding Yoshi on a quest to save Princess Peach.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbling. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
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