Synonyms of stumped

stumped

verb

past tense of stump

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

• shuffled
• stumbled
• stomped
• barged
• floundered
• weaved
• stamped
• lurched
• trudged
• clumped
• sloughed
• lumped
• hauled
• dragged
• shambled
• tramped
• scuffled
• scuffed
• pounded
• plodded
• lumbered
• staggered
• slogged
• galumphed
• flogged
• flopped
• tromped
• swayed
• blundered
• reeled
• waddled
• tottered
• wobbled
• doddered
• careened
• teetered

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slid
• whisked
• glided
• floated
• hung
• drifted
• hovered
• waltzed
• coasted
• breezed
• poised
• wafted

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

• challenged
• dared
• confronted
• defied
• faced
• braved
• bearded
• brazened
• outfaced
• outbraved
• breasted

Example Sentences

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