1
as in to fall
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 to struggle
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 to shuffle
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 to fumble
to make a mistake
that network announcer rarely stumbles when he's on the air
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to find
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance
stumbled on some old family photos when she was cleaning out a drawer
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to encounter
to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face
stumbled upon an old acquaintance at the airport
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of stumble
Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 3 June 2026
Debutant Crysencio Summerville’s cross from the right begged to be converted, only for Malen to stumble and scuff wide.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 3 June 2026
ABC News, 27 May 2026
Coming shortly after Thierno Barry had put them 3-1 up, both Tarkowski and Keane switched off from kick-off to hand a stumbling City a lifeline.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for stumble
Verb
When reading one lawsuit for the first time, O’Day stops and speaks to the camera, stumbling a bit.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 3 June 2026
Debutant Crysencio Summerville’s cross from the right begged to be converted, only for Malen to stumble and scuff wide.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 3 June 2026
Verb
New Jersey had won only one playoff series the previous four seasons and were stumbling late in 2000 when Lamoriello decided a change was needed.
—ABC News, 27 May 2026
Coming shortly after Thierno Barry had put them 3-1 up, both Tarkowski and Keane switched off from kick-off to hand a stumbling City a lifeline.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for stumble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumble
Verb
-
For the Fever, who entered the season as championship contenders, the first 10 games have fallen well short of expectations, as scrutiny continues to mount on head coach Stephanie White.—
Jackson Thompson OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
7 June 2026
-
Migrant arrivals in the Canary Islands peaked in 2024 at nearly 47,000, but have fallen dramatically, with just over 2,000 people landing there in the first four months of 2026.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
As families struggle with rising costs, healthcare affordability has emerged as a defining issue heading into the midterms.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2026
-
The back-to-back deals offer one of the clearest signals yet that Abel is prepared to put Berkshire’s enormous balance sheet to work after years of criticism that the company had become too cautious and was struggling to find opportunities large enough to move the needle.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Other major destinations, which have seen their order in the top-six markets by size shuffle rapidly in recent months, painted a mixed picture.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
2 June 2026
-
Having gone into hiding, Walt ultimately manages to make some things right before shuffling off the mortal coil.—
Brianna Zigler,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
During Miami’s two periods of special teams work Malik Washington fumbled his first kickoff return, but most of the other punt returners and kickoff returned fielded their attempts well.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
2 June 2026
-
But then again, neither is the Bears fumbling and bumbling.—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Captain Sandy finds her newish team in Dubrovnik, Croatia, aboard the Akira One, a bigger and older boat than last season’s Bravado.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
9 June 2026
-
Through this deceptively simple framework, Hiraide delivers a poetic and poignant meditation on the passage of time, the meaning of work and love, and the surprise of finding joy in life’s ephemeral details.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
At Wednesday's news conference, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden described the scene investigators encountered.—
Brittany Miller,
FOXNews.com,
7 June 2026
-
Some pediatricians’ offices delayed placing orders for the shots by months, and multiple states encountered issues when trying to order them through the VFC program.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
Like India, Indonesia has been wrestling with a falling currency, and on May 20, the country's central bank raised its policy interest rates by a larger-than-expected 50 basis points.—
Sri Jegarajah,Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
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Anyone who likes keeping the balcony doors open at night and falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves should enjoy the Ocean Rooms.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Even as Sand downplays party politics, Democrats are putting faith in him to blaze a trail in the state after struggling electorally in recent cycles.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
-
But as the two collaborators went on to explain, a superhero buddy comedy about a struggling actor that’s as interested in the logistics of auditions as saving the universe is a tough sell for any brand.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
7 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumble. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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