1
as in shuffled
to move heavily or clumsily
the seemingly endless parade finally ended, and the drummers and tuba players stumped wearily to their buses
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in challenged
to invite (someone) to take part in a contest or to perform a feat
when my grandfather was a kid, he and his friends would stump one another to dive into the local swimming hole
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Recent Examples of stumped
The story opens in the 1960s, during a long communication gap, as a group of MIT graduate students sets out to solve a proof that stumped the greatest minds of the previous generation (including Albert Einstein).
—
Alexandra Oliva, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026
Tatis’ power outage at age 27 has stumped the baseball world.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2026
In an interview, Rabb easily answered the question that had stumped Stanford.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 18 May 2026
Streep then did her impersonation of De Niro apparently stumped by a question.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2026
How many voters have diligently studied candidates and ballot initiatives prior to election day, only to be stumped by a sometimes excruciatingly long list of unfamiliar names of people trying to get or retain jobs as judges?
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
The question stumped them, but only to some extent.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026
Still, managers might be stumped by a request to put on high school hoops or a sailing competition.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 23 Mar. 2026
The next question, about picadillo, stumped the Oscar nominee.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2026
Alexandra Oliva, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026
Tatis’ power outage at age 27 has stumped the baseball world.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2026
In an interview, Rabb easily answered the question that had stumped Stanford.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 18 May 2026
Streep then did her impersonation of De Niro apparently stumped by a question.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2026
How many voters have diligently studied candidates and ballot initiatives prior to election day, only to be stumped by a sometimes excruciatingly long list of unfamiliar names of people trying to get or retain jobs as judges?
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
The question stumped them, but only to some extent.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026
Still, managers might be stumped by a request to put on high school hoops or a sailing competition.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 23 Mar. 2026
The next question, about picadillo, stumped the Oscar nominee.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumped
Verb
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After about 10 minutes of sitting frozen in place, the seven-year-old shuffled out of the room with his mother, sister and grandmother.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026
-
The outsize failings of the men in power demand a grand reimagining of the consequences of those failings, and Helen of Nowhere offers up, exhilaratingly and naughtily, a myth for the man who needs to be shuffled offstage one way or another.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 June 2026
Verb
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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has challenged six regional grid operators to justify or overhaul their connection rules for massive electricity users, like AI data centers, within 60 days.—
Ron Schmelzer,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
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For most leagues, this would be an open-and-shut case; a ban from the sport would never be challenged.—
Jemele Hill,
The Atlantic,
19 June 2026
Verb
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Because the 59-year-old MAGA actor has stumbled into a debate that’s been vexing DC fans for more than six decades.—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
16 June 2026
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The memorial effort dragged for years as the private onePulse Foundation, originally tasked to create it, stumbled and then collapsed amid excessive ambition that produced a plan for a $100 million memorial and museum the group had no ability to fund.—
Silas Morgan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Not quite — the Adventist Development and Relief Agency dared to dream even bigger in 2024 with a 107-by-64-foot colossus assembled in Chile that holds the record to this day.—
Anusha Praturu,
Vulture,
12 June 2026
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No Utah newspaper dared to run the stories, the pair said.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 June 2026
Verb
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On Monday night, a 39-year-old man wearing a Spurs jersey was stomped and punched after Game 3 while walking down West 47th Street, about 15 blocks from the arena.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
14 June 2026
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It's been 33 years since Jurassic Park first stomped into theaters, and blockbusters haven't been the same since.—
Huntley Woods,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stumped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumped. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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