toddling

verb

present participle of toddle
as in stumbling

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for toddling
  1. stumbling
  2. tottering
  3. floundering
  4. lurching
  5. shaking
  6. rocking
  7. wavering
  8. faltering
Verb
  • Nothing that would actually stop a person, a child, a wheelchair or a stumbling drunk from going straight into the water.
    — Joseph V. Sakran, Baltimore Sun, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Such a contrast to the wonderful Bootham Crescent, York’s home until 2020 and within stumbling distance of not only the famous Minster but all the city’s many other attractions.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of stumbling
Verb
  • In an accompanying cartoon, Spark is caricatured as a sulking giant, tottering above the Tuscan countryside in a pair of high heels.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
  • Among them a City boy wearing three Fit-Bit-type devices, two beautiful Middle Eastern sisters, an outrageously pompous elderly American (sorry; eavesdropping), and several Imelda Marcos lookalikes, tottering out of the treatment rooms with, somehow, their elaborate hairstyles still intact.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Definition of tottering
Verb
  • In 2024, early data on the vaccine served as a turning point for the floundering field.
    — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The series tells the story of Jossi, a floundering actor who lies his way into a casting call reserved for Jewish performers.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of floundering
Verb
  • The United States, which had been lurching toward entry in the Second World War, was suddenly and inescapably thrust into global conflict.
    — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Republicans see Democrats lurching to the left and embracing socialism as an opening to link their opponents to the far more radical communism.
    — Garrett Downs, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of lurching
Verb
  • Knightsbridge was challenged over the opening mile by the speedy Full Serrano before shaking him off at the head of the stretch.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Hood makes the sign of the cross with his shaking hands and removes his glasses to wipe away a tear.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of shaking
Verb
  • May is going strong with stellar entertainment rocking the hottest clubs on the beach.
    — miami staff, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026
  • There are times when Linkin Park fills more spaces than any other singer or group on the rock tallies, thanks to a catalog that includes some of the biggest hard-rocking tracks of the past several decades.
    — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of rocking
Verb
  • Usually hidden by the glare of our star, the ethereal corona and its pale, wavering streams of plasma are shaped by the sun’s magnetic field.
    — Claire Cameron & Lee Billings, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026
  • But its machines need replacing, and the Federal Reserve is wavering on spending the money.
    — Jay L. Zagorsky, The Conversation, 24 July 2026
Definition of wavering
Verb
  • But to arrest that decline, governments will have to address the faltering state capacity that is driving it.
    — Jennifer Pahlka, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
  • After Stearns and Kostyuk won the first six points, the Williams sisters cut the deficit to one before eventually faltering on Venus’ double-fault on the final point.
    — Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of faltering
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

toddles
toddling
to death
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Cite this Entry

“Toddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toddling. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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