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
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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"
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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
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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
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
Instead of her being forced to leave it there (and Alex eventually stumbling across it), Sophi could have taken the box — thereby either denying Alex ever getting his idol, or perhaps even then later sneaking off and using the key to get the idol herself.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2025
The system even introduces natural-looking mistakes, like gymnasts stumbling, making scenes feel closer to real life.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2025
With nine games left in the season and the Grizzlies stumbling toward the Play-In Tournament, general manager Zach Kleiman abruptly fired Jenkins and LaRoche.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
The episode ends with a surreal, graphic deepfake scene of a totally nude Donald Trump stumbling around a desert.
—Nick Marx, The Conversation, 11 Sep. 2025
Inside the agency, Dudek, ill-prepared for leadership or for DOGE’s murky agenda, was stumbling through the chaos in part by creating some of his own.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2025
The conceit is inherently crowdpleasing — a man stumbling into strangers’ lives and finding unexpected connection — but Hikari steers it with earnestness, elevating it beyond sentimental comedy.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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
Instead of her being forced to leave it there (and Alex eventually stumbling across it), Sophi could have taken the box — thereby either denying Alex ever getting his idol, or perhaps even then later sneaking off and using the key to get the idol herself.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2025
The system even introduces natural-looking mistakes, like gymnasts stumbling, making scenes feel closer to real life.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2025
With nine games left in the season and the Grizzlies stumbling toward the Play-In Tournament, general manager Zach Kleiman abruptly fired Jenkins and LaRoche.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
The episode ends with a surreal, graphic deepfake scene of a totally nude Donald Trump stumbling around a desert.
—Nick Marx, The Conversation, 11 Sep. 2025
Inside the agency, Dudek, ill-prepared for leadership or for DOGE’s murky agenda, was stumbling through the chaos in part by creating some of his own.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2025
The conceit is inherently crowdpleasing — a man stumbling into strangers’ lives and finding unexpected connection — but Hikari steers it with earnestness, elevating it beyond sentimental comedy.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbling
Verb
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With less money being invested by record labels into touring, that has created a top-heavy artist hierarchy, with the rich getting richer and the poor and middle class falling by the wayside.—
Roy Trakin,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
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The group acknowledged a need to modernize the government's data gathering processes, which have been hampered by falling survey response rates.—
Scott Horsley,
NPR,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Maybe new additions will boost a struggling position group.—
Antonio Morales,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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The ever-paranoid Ally believes all of these headscratchers are part of a Trumpian conspiracy that's out to get her, but audiences were left struggling to connect the dots.—
James Mercadante,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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To him, the equipment staff shuffling pieces around on the field during practice is just as important as the head coach standing by.—
Christopher Kamrani,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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During the 2024 rampage, two suspects wearing masks were captured on surveillance video shuffling up a driveway and firing weapons towards the home.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But the Patriots gave it right back as Rhamondre Stevenson, who has had trouble fumbling early this season, was stripped after catching a pass from Maye.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Oct. 2025
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Although the scoring position turnover trend continued, with CJ Stokes and Javen Nicholas fumbling in plus-territory on consecutive drives in the third quarter, the offense was much improved with Wilcke in the game.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Farley, a former New York City health commissioner who teaches at Tulane University, acknowledged that many factors contribute to falls, including the physical impairments and deteriorating eyesight associated with advancing age; alcohol abuse; and tripping hazards in people’s homes.—
Paula Span,
Miami Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
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Carr ends up tripping and falling down stairs, eating soup laced with Plan B One Step emergency contraceptive, and getting doused in cat feces, which leads to him contracting toxoplasmosis, a parasite that can be transferred to fetuses during pregnancy.—
Tiney Ricciardi,
Denver Post,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
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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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Maura is marvelous stomping around the apartment in a cold fury and refusing to speak to Clara, who proceeds regardless with broker negotiations and brings in antiques dealer Abslam (Ahmed Boulane) to buy up the contents.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Oct. 2025
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The Norwegian stomping clear of a defence caught too high up the pitch.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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With the job market faltering and new tariffs adding uncertainty to the economy, futures markets are pricing in as many as two additional cuts — totaling 75 basis points — by the end of the year, according to the CME FedWatch tool, which tracks investor expectations for Fed policy.—
Mike Winters,
CNBC,
17 Sep. 2025
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Washington — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates for the first time since December to support America’s faltering labor market.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbling. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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