1
as in to fall
to go down from an upright position suddenly and involuntarily
the bride stumbled on the altar steps and landed smack in the arms of the minister
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to struggle
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
stumbled twice while she was reciting the "Gettysburg Address"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
the tipsy revelers left the path and wearily stumbled through the tangled undergrowth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to fumble
to make a mistake
that network announcer rarely stumbles when he's on the air
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
was his hurtful remark a regrettable stumble, or was it made with artful intention?
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stumble
Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
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
Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
Page and her cameraman stumble onto the Kiritsis story very early on, and refuse to give it up once the higher-ups in the newsroom start paying attention as well.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stumble
Verb
The planet stumbled toward apocalypse.
—Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
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
Noun
That's when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
Page and her cameraman stumble onto the Kiritsis story very early on, and refuse to give it up once the higher-ups in the newsroom start paying attention as well.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stumble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumble
Verb
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New residential property prices fell year-on-year during August in 65 out of 70 cities surveyed by the NBS, data also showed.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
15 Sep. 2025
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Penske’s complaint argues that practice isn’t a fair exchange and has caused significant financial harm, with the company’s affiliate revenue falling by more than a third (as a result of Google’s AI Overviews co-opting traffic that might have otherwise gone to Penske outlets).—
Andy Meek,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Livonia bread staple West Fenkell Bakery permanently closed its doors on Middlebelt Road near Five Mile, after owners struggled to make ends meet in the midst of renegotiating a contract for its building.—
Natalie Davies,
Freep.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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Atlanta struggled out of the gate, trailing by six after the first quarter, after being outscored 14-0 from the 3-point and free-throw lines combined.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Gakpo is deeper, and Wirtz pushes forward as the central member of Liverpool’s forward line, while Ekitike shuffles across as the left of the trio.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
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Declining enrollment means the district may need to shuffle schools, students, or teachers to ensure each school is well attended, and the student-teacher ratios are well-balanced.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Lucille Ball once lost her glasses on stage at the Emmys and had to fumble her way through.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Seconds thereafter, the Clippers fumbled the ball away once again, setting up Gloucester with another short field.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But Trump has seemed to suggest that the drone incident may have been a mistake.—
Michelle Stoddart,
ABC News,
16 Sep. 2025
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Consumer Behavior Supports Continued Innovation One of leaders’ biggest mistakes during volatile periods is assuming all consumer behavior changes negatively.—
Talbott Roche,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Though Bellinger was eventually called out on spectator interference rather than the catch itself, Martin’s fearless tumble over the wall stood out on a day in which the Twins shut out the Yankees (83-67) for the first time since 2008.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
16 Sep. 2025
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Jobs took a separate big tumble on September 5 when the jobs numbers for August came out.—
Erik Sherman,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The junior wideout slipped loose into the secondary, breaking free for a 51-yard touchdown reception as the Harbormen cut things to a 21-13 game.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
20 Sep. 2025
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Conducted over the course of several months, a Microsoft postmortem on the Storm-0558 attack revealed several errors that led to the Chinese group slipping past cloud defenses.—
Kevin Purdy,
ArsTechnica,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In Baltimore, the Ravens shook off last week’s stunning loss to the Bills by stomping the Cleveland Browns 41-17.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
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Most tourists don't come to Abu Dhabi to put on a thick coat and stomp around a snowy landscape but theme park fans are the exception.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumble. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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