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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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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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The resulting 6° to 7° C of global warming shuffled the makeup of plant and dinosaur species on land and caused a mass extinction of corals and other marine species.
-
The company has since shuffled several leaders, including naming a new human resources chief and the company’s first chief digital officer.
Verb
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Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer came out of the net to go for the ball, as a Ecuadorian player challenged the net.
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Competitors are challenged to inspect damaged vehicles, identify structural and cosmetic damage, develop repair plans, prepare computerized repair estimates and evaluate total-loss scenarios using industry standards, the release said.
Verb
-
Once seen as the Fox News for the next generation of conservatives, the Daily Wire has stumbled over the last several years.
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Through a connection, Jobs stumbled upon what was then the computer animation division of Star Wars creator George Lucas’ production company Lucasfilm and was immediately impressed, wrote Walter Isaacson in his biography of the Apple cofounder.
Verb
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So before, this was a police state—and the only benefit of that was no one dared to commit crimes, particularly against a foreigner.
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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.
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.
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It's been 33 years since Jurassic Park first stomped into theaters, and blockbusters haven't been the same since.
Cite this Entry
“Stumped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumped. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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