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
Relevance
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?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of stumble
Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 13 June 2025
The implication that Pax might be dealing with some issues came up again last month when he was photographed by the paparazzi in the early morning hours, stumbling out of the famed Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles, with a dazed grin and needing to be held up by friends, the Daily Mail reported.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 12 June 2025
Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2025
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also shrugged off some of the early stumbles, arguing that Musk and DOGE are committed to quickly correcting mistakes.
—Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stumble
Verb
Half Prospero, half Gomer Pyle, Wilson abjured his magic and spent much of the following two decades stumbling into mania, depression, and drug abuse, before eventually reemerging into public life and personal prosperity.
—Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 13 June 2025
The implication that Pax might be dealing with some issues came up again last month when he was photographed by the paparazzi in the early morning hours, stumbling out of the famed Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles, with a dazed grin and needing to be held up by friends, the Daily Mail reported.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 12 June 2025
Noun
Australia's Min Woo Lee recovered from a late stumble, making clutch pars on Nos. 17 and 18 to win the Houston Open for his first career PGA Tour win.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2025
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also shrugged off some of the early stumbles, arguing that Musk and DOGE are committed to quickly correcting mistakes.
—Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stumble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumble
Verb
-
Reckoning for three weekends, but the Tom Cruise-starrer fell only 31 percent in its fourth outing to $10.3 million from 2,942 theaters for a domestic tally of $166.3 million.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
15 June 2025
-
What once looked like a promising season is falling apart for the Kansas City Royals.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
15 June 2025
Verb
-
Arkansas struggled offensively for the second consecutive game but gave Wood enough run support to stay comfortable.—
Matt Jones,
Arkansas Online,
16 June 2025
-
Just as a time traveler from the 1960s would struggle to navigate modern life without learning how to operate a phone, a talented professional in 2025 who hasn’t learned to work with AI tools is out of step with reality.—
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic,
Forbes.com,
16 June 2025
Verb
-
The Discovery+ streaming service will be shuffled into the Global Networks company.—
Stephen Battaglio,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2025
-
Boys as young as 10 are shuffling around, carrying trays of flour, starch and pistachios — undistracted by this reporting team's presence.—
Fatma Tanis,
NPR,
7 June 2025
Verb
-
United goalkeeper Altay Bayındır fumbled the ball on the edge of his area, allowing Villa forward Morgan Rogers to take possession and put the ball into the net.—
George Ramsay,
CNN Money,
26 May 2025
-
Minnesota Vikings: Aaron Jones — Jones came up in the discussion about fumbling, but that will not stop him from being the leading backfield producer for the Vikings.—
Jake Ciely,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
Noun
-
Status threat, risk of irrelevance, and making mistakes are common barriers.—
Julie Kratz,
Forbes.com,
15 June 2025
-
Scott, whose lone major was 12 years ago at the Masters, didn’t make a mistake since a soft bogey on the opening hole and looked far younger than his 44 years down the stretch with brilliant iron play and enough putts for a 67, leaving him one shot behind.—
Doug Ferguson,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2025
Noun
-
Still in a slow tumble, the ship started shedding scorched chunks of its skin before the screen went black.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
28 May 2025
-
There’s a tumble of XXL petals on the facade of this nine-level, 40,000-square-foot building, which since November has been home to 180 employees, including an eight-strong prototyping team.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
If wider markets slip, so may the appetite for future fintech floats.—
Ron Shevlin,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2025
-
Mission slipped into 2025 because ULA needed more Vulcan rocket hardware beyond Cert-2 and the two USSF missions that took priority over the Dream Chaser flight.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 June 2025
Verb
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Accounts Samsung Confirms Upgrade Choice—Galaxy Users Must Now Decide In the spring, males would gather in leks and perform dramatic dances, puffing out orange air sacs on their necks and stomping their feet to show dominance and vitality.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
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Fifteen kids happily stomp their sneakers to the count.—
John Burnett,
NPR,
7 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumble. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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