as in encountering
to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face
stumbled upon an old acquaintance at the airport
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbling (upon)
Verb
-
There he was flabbergasted to discover video footage of a woman wearing a dark Balenciaga sack dress on the streets of Paris in the ’50s, encountering curiosity and visible scorn.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
4 Oct. 2025 -
When the eye looks symmetrical, that often means the storm is not encountering anything to weaken it.—
The New York Times,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Goldberg-Polin has become a global advocate for the remaining hostages, meeting with world leaders and speaking publicly about her loss.—
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
After meeting in high school, the pair began dating in 1972 and split four years later.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Stumbling (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbling%20%28upon%29. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share