as in lurched
to move forward while swaying from side to side
the duck waddled back into the water we watched the penguins waddle over the ice together
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Recent Examples of waddled
When temperatures dropped below 30 degrees this month, the penguins waddled to warmth by going to their indoor enclosure.
—
Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 31 Jan. 2026
Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 31 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waddled
Verb
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Over the course of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s term, CPS has lurched from budget crisis to budget crisis, able only to muddle through due to record-breaking mayoral declarations of tax-increment-financing surpluses.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
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Elsewhere in town, the original creature, played by Christian Bale, has lurched here from Austria still on his lonely quest for companionship.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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When Camus first imagined great replacement theory in Hérault on the eve of the twenty-first century, his conspiracy theory staggered around the fringes of global politics.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
-
David staggered away as the video cuts off.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
Mercury News,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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As children from the synagogue were shuffled to safety, nearby West Bloomfield Schools were under a shelter-in-place order from police.—
John Wisely,
Freep.com,
13 Mar. 2026
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Samson Fellows shuffled in his slippers to a small space heater and flicked it on.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Waddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waddled. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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