as in muttering
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1
as in falling
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in struggling
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 shuffling
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 fumbling
to make a mistake
that network announcer rarely stumbles when he's on the air
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stumbling
Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
The latest trailer finds Mario and Luigi stumbling upon the green lizard in a spooky cave.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Feb. 2026
Despite stumbling on a quad lutz jump and forgoing a quad axel for a triple, Malinin’s score of 200 points was enough to hold off a clean and graceful program by Japan’s Shun Sato for the overall gold.
—Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 8 Feb. 2026
In a video of the incident, McConnell, who was walking with a visibly stiff gait and relying on a person beside him for stability, can be seen stumbling to the ground toward the end of the woman's question and landing on his left side.
—Amy McCarthy, PEOPLE, 4 Feb. 2026
The committee is already split between those worried about persistent inflation, who’d like to keep rates unchanged, and those who think that recent upticks in unemployment point to a stumbling economy that needs lower interest rates to bolster hiring.
—Christopher Rugaber, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2026
Years of decline have reduced Tottenham — one of the wealthiest clubs on the planet — to a place where the collective mood of the fanbase is at least somewhat conditioned by Arsenal stumbling again.
—Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Nevermind that this is obviously the work of someone acting deliberately, stealthily and with obvious malice – not a drunk stumbling into their homes.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
These are just some of the most prominent, powerful bootlickers stumbling right now on their own deceit and desperation.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
Verb
Reports of stumbling, slipping on the ice or just the indignity of having to yield to a robot were among common complaints submitted, Robertson said.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
The latest trailer finds Mario and Luigi stumbling upon the green lizard in a spooky cave.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Feb. 2026
Despite stumbling on a quad lutz jump and forgoing a quad axel for a triple, Malinin’s score of 200 points was enough to hold off a clean and graceful program by Japan’s Shun Sato for the overall gold.
—Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 8 Feb. 2026
In a video of the incident, McConnell, who was walking with a visibly stiff gait and relying on a person beside him for stability, can be seen stumbling to the ground toward the end of the woman's question and landing on his left side.
—Amy McCarthy, PEOPLE, 4 Feb. 2026
The committee is already split between those worried about persistent inflation, who’d like to keep rates unchanged, and those who think that recent upticks in unemployment point to a stumbling economy that needs lower interest rates to bolster hiring.
—Christopher Rugaber, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2026
Years of decline have reduced Tottenham — one of the wealthiest clubs on the planet — to a place where the collective mood of the fanbase is at least somewhat conditioned by Arsenal stumbling again.
—Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Nevermind that this is obviously the work of someone acting deliberately, stealthily and with obvious malice – not a drunk stumbling into their homes.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
These are just some of the most prominent, powerful bootlickers stumbling right now on their own deceit and desperation.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbling
Verb
-
Two months later, the appointment of another nominee, Keith Fountain, failed in a 5-4 decision of the Board of Directors, falling one short of the six votes necessary to confirm him.—
Joseph Flaherty,
Arkansas Online,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Bear, struggling with drug addiction, had no one urging her to fight the state’s case.—
Raynee Howell,
Oklahoma Watch,
9 Feb. 2026
-
He’s trapped in rolling crises of his own making and is struggling to sell voters on the idea of a strong American economy.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Bridgerton treats it as though every woman got multiples of their yearbook photo to hand around as headshots, and Benedict’s taking what would have been treasured personal heirlooms and just shuffling through them and tossing out anyone with the wrong hair color.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Silvia showed them little affection or attention, shuffling quickly through the infants to feed, change, or hold them.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Super Bowl 60 saw the Seattle Seahawks claim victory over the New England Patriots, but there were plenty of other winners — and losers — off the field during the game, with some brands scoring with their commercials and others fumbling their attempts for a loss.—
Aimee Picchi,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The Blue Demons’ guard panicked, fumbling the ball, and Fudd read her perfectly.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Letter writer kept cancer diagnosis private to avoid people’s reactions, but that plan is faltering as illness progresses.—
Carolyn Hax,
Washington Post,
8 Feb. 2026
-
As of Thursday, other digital assets like ether and solana were also down 24% and 26% for the week to date, respectively — a sign investors’ confidence in the entire crypto market is faltering.—
Liz Napolitano,
CNBC,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Square-jawed detectives were tripping over corpses at midtown construction sites, blind vigilantes were redecorating Hell’s Kitchen with body parts and even poor Lester the doorman ended up dead in an Upper West Side courtyard fountain.—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Finland had a power play opportunity after a tripping call against Slovakia's captain, Tomas Tatar.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Yabusele started Monday and immediately racked up two blundering fouls in four minutes.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Our party walked single file to minimize the chance of blundering onto private property.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Han will be posted up by the Milennium Falcon and/or Oga’s Cantina, Luke will be stomping his Chanel boots in the marketplace, and Darth Vader will be force-choking dads in Grumpy tees.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Then there’s the people watching, from the tailgating to the communal divot stomping, full of dramatic sun dresses and hats with flourishes, seersucker suits and, yes, hats with flourishes.—
Eric Barton,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbling. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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