as in fumbling
to search for something blindly or uncertainly
she groped in her purse for her car keys groping for the right answer
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Recent Examples of groping
Jennifer Jackson, 39, was charged with felony counts of groping a 15-year-old girl and vandalism.
—
Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026
Sheriff got into a tussle with his killer after the stranger started drunkenly groping women, including the victim’s girlfriend, according to Fawaz.
—Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
Patients accused Heaps of groping them, performing unnecessarily invasive examinations and making suggestive comments.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026
After literally years of groping around in the dark, Brazil do, at least, have the makings of a plan under Ancelotti.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Busfield is accused of groping a 16-year-old girl who was auditioning for a role at the B Street Theatre in Sacramento, according to a prosecution filing.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 14 Jan. 2026
The current warrant affidavit, which references the Little Big League incident, also cited other prior accusations, including a 2012 groping allegation in Los Angeles.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 13 Jan. 2026
Everyone—libidinous kids and adults alike—is alienated and groping for distraction, until tragedy strikes.
—The Atlantic Culture Desk, The Atlantic, 21 Dec. 2025
Among his convictions, Rahab was convicted of groping the butts of at least three different women and a 15-year-old girl in 2023.
—Matthew Cupelli, Cincinnati Enquirer, 8 Nov. 2025
Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026
Sheriff got into a tussle with his killer after the stranger started drunkenly groping women, including the victim’s girlfriend, according to Fawaz.
—Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
Patients accused Heaps of groping them, performing unnecessarily invasive examinations and making suggestive comments.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026
After literally years of groping around in the dark, Brazil do, at least, have the makings of a plan under Ancelotti.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Busfield is accused of groping a 16-year-old girl who was auditioning for a role at the B Street Theatre in Sacramento, according to a prosecution filing.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 14 Jan. 2026
The current warrant affidavit, which references the Little Big League incident, also cited other prior accusations, including a 2012 groping allegation in Los Angeles.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 13 Jan. 2026
Everyone—libidinous kids and adults alike—is alienated and groping for distraction, until tragedy strikes.
—The Atlantic Culture Desk, The Atlantic, 21 Dec. 2025
Among his convictions, Rahab was convicted of groping the butts of at least three different women and a 15-year-old girl in 2023.
—Matthew Cupelli, Cincinnati Enquirer, 8 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for groping
Verb
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This alone can shave valuable minutes off your screening and help you to breeze through the scanner instead of fumbling at the bins.—
Kayla Kitts,
Travel + Leisure,
13 Mar. 2026
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Kathy Ireland accused her former team of fumbling her multimillion-dollar fortune, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.—
Tracy Wright,
FOXNews.com,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Glassman said the family’s legal team is looking into whether Khimberly was properly examined during her initial hospitalization.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
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In 2024, Alphabet was also looking for external investors to grow GFiber, and eventually spin it off into an independent business, according to Reuters.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Groping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groping. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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