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
Relevance
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
Adam Solomons, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
Whew The last thing a team wants to see is its starting quarterback stumbling to the sideline four plays into the season.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
The sighting comes just two months after Clinton was spotted stumbling on a New York City sidewalk outside the 92NY, a cultural center in the Big Apple.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 30 Aug. 2025
The same Jackson Arnold who was benched last season at Oklahoma, which was stumbling through its worst season in three decades.
—Matt Hayes, The Tennessean, 30 Aug. 2025
The matches often devolve into the wrestlers stumbling around the ring, trying to find each other based on the sound of the crowd.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
He was last seen on the video stumbling toward the basement stairs again, and he was found in the February morning curled up in a fetal position at the bottom of the steps without a shirt on.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 24 Aug. 2025
Miranda is now fully gay, split up from Steve (David Eigenberg), her son Brady (Niall Cunningham) a man-child stumbling through his twenties.
—Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
His arrival home each night is announced by his sputtering motorcycle and his drunken stumbling up the stairs.
—Adam Solomons, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
Whew The last thing a team wants to see is its starting quarterback stumbling to the sideline four plays into the season.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
The sighting comes just two months after Clinton was spotted stumbling on a New York City sidewalk outside the 92NY, a cultural center in the Big Apple.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 30 Aug. 2025
The same Jackson Arnold who was benched last season at Oklahoma, which was stumbling through its worst season in three decades.
—Matt Hayes, The Tennessean, 30 Aug. 2025
The matches often devolve into the wrestlers stumbling around the ring, trying to find each other based on the sound of the crowd.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
He was last seen on the video stumbling toward the basement stairs again, and he was found in the February morning curled up in a fetal position at the bottom of the steps without a shirt on.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 24 Aug. 2025
Miranda is now fully gay, split up from Steve (David Eigenberg), her son Brady (Niall Cunningham) a man-child stumbling through his twenties.
—Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbling
Verb
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And customers are falling for it.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Other big stories ➤ The median rent on a one-bedroom Phoenix-area apartment is falling after the region led the nation in price increases in 2021.—
Lorenzino Estrada,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Even with Muchová so clearly struggling, Osaka faced some weird jeopardy down the stretch.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
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However, even people who have these more 'substantial' degrees are struggling.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The three actors were filming a lighthearted scene, shuffling excitedly between a hot sauna and cold plunge, when Reeves’ foot caught on some flooring.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
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The film essentially takes place entirely within an under-20-minute timeline, showing the same events from a shuffling deck of points of view.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Boise State played an uneven first half in Tampa, fumbling twice and committing a huge penalty that gave life to a South Florida touchdown drive.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
29 Aug. 2025
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Facial recognition can help reduce wait times, eliminate the hassle of fumbling with documents and free up staff to focus on higher-value service.—
Jeff Kim,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In my heavy-tripping state, the taste is glorious.—
R29 Team,
Refinery29,
1 Sep. 2025
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Surveillance video showed that Trigg accidentally fell into the pool after tripping and falling on an inflatable chair.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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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
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Cena’s chrome-domed antihero, Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante and and Danielle Brooks’ Adebayo stomping through spots of light.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
21 Aug. 2025
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No velvet rope, no fourth wall—just boot-stomping, beer-sign neon and crowd-absorption tech.—
Bob Bonniol,
Rolling Stone,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The deliberate display of unity is a pointed rebuke to Trump’s faltering attempt to end Russia’s war in Ukraine – and an open challenge to America’s waning global leadership under the US president.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
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In a market where subscriber fatigue is real and traditional playbooks are faltering, agility may count more than size.—
Jason Wingard,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbling. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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