1
as in to stumble
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
unprepared choristers who floundered helplessly through the musical number
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
the car floundered through the heavy wet snow, constantly getting stuck
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flounder
So there was a period there from about 1970 to ’79 where the studio executives were floundering.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Dec. 2024
Hire too early, and the journalist may flounder without the necessary infrastructure to support their work.
—Rhea Wessel, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flounder
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Dec. 2024
Hire too early, and the journalist may flounder without the necessary infrastructure to support their work.
—Rhea Wessel, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flounder
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flounder
Verb
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Liv hesitates, does awkward stumble toward her, drops head onto Sally’s shoulder.—
George Saunders,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2025
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But after entering the All-Star break holding a Wild Card, Boston stumbled almost immediately in the second half.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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For all of the conversation late last year analyzing how quickly Sporting KC might be able to shuffle the chairs — or even Vermes praising the way his team played Wednesday — a swap at striker, a swap in the mentality at striker, transcends everything else.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
20 Feb. 2025
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The plan involved shuffling around existing crew assignments to free up two of the four seats on a SpaceX capsule that launched in late September, so that Wilmore and Williams could occupy the seats on the return trip.—
Denise Chow,
NBC News,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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But in a world of limited resources — and in a city struggling mightily just to pay for existing services — policymakers need to make this money go further.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Feb. 2025
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The Broncos struggled with turnovers from the tip-off but stayed in the game by forcing similar issues out of the Aztecs.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
16 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Boston stomped the competition last season en route to winning their record 18th NBA championship.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
1 Feb. 2025
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As the lead-in to headliners Red Clay Strays, 49 Winchester were a hard act to follow, with singer Isaac Gibson stomping about the stage while showing off the wide range of emotion in his voice.—
Josh Crutchmer,
Rolling Stone,
30 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Don’t wait for late-arriving Easter to fire the starting gun for spring: April 1 is a good excuse to slough off the doldrums of winter and start exploring again.—
Mark Ellwood,
AFAR Media,
7 Feb. 2025
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And last but not least, the Clarify collection — which has Clarifying Shampoo, Scalp Serum and Scalp Scrub — is all about showing love to your scalp and sloughing off the day.—
Hedy Phillips,
People.com,
25 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flounder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flounder. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.
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