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
House Speaker Mike Johnson stumped for Neimeyer in 2024, and the National Republican Congressional Committee has put the district on its list of 26 seats to target in 2026.
—
Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 26 Aug. 2025
His case had stumped his doctors.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2025
Thinking it over, the thing that stumped me was, what would 1/6 of a buck look like roaming through the woods?
—Chester Chatfield, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2025
The debate has stumped some lawmakers, unsure about antifa’s physical framework, while spurring others to want to unmask these militants engaged in high-level, and sometimes large-scale, coordinated efforts.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 12 Aug. 2025
Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 26 Aug. 2025
His case had stumped his doctors.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2025
Thinking it over, the thing that stumped me was, what would 1/6 of a buck look like roaming through the woods?
—Chester Chatfield, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2025
The debate has stumped some lawmakers, unsure about antifa’s physical framework, while spurring others to want to unmask these militants engaged in high-level, and sometimes large-scale, coordinated efforts.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumped
Verb
-
The Kraken shuffled their front office, but didn’t change direction.—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
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The practice schedule has also been shuffled, sleep is being emphasized and the team will travel on a larger plane.—
Haley Sawyer,
Oc Register,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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LaFleur challenged a 37-yard pass to Malik Heath that was initially ruled incomplete.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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Research conducted at Zvejnieki has often challenged longheld assumptions about gender roles in prehistoric Europe.—
Sarah Durn,
Popular Science,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Wildcats stumbled early but got hot in October, won 10 games, beat Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl and were one of the biggest surprises in the country.—
Jon Wilner,
Mercury News,
13 Sep. 2025
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The Patriots stumbled at the start of the Mike Vrabel era last week, dropping a winnable game to the Raiders at home as favorites.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Her collectedness collapses as Johnson turns the joke into a physical act-out, becoming almost insulted that this earthquake dared to frighten her.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
15 Sep. 2025
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Wu, who worked under Menino at City Hall, has not taken the same tack and has actually alienated herself from a segment of the community that has dared to challenge her, like those opposing her White Stadium rebuilding plan.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That certainly looked to be the case as the Indianapolis Colts stomped the Miami Dolphins 33-8 in the regular-season opener.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
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Many in Hollywood were dubious as to whether Universal and Amblin could reboot the Jurassic franchise for a third time, and birth a new trilogy more than three decades after Steven Spielberg’s dinos first stomped onto the big screen in 1993’s Jurassic Park.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumped. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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