1
as in to stumble
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
unprepared choristers who floundered helplessly through the musical number
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
the car floundered through the heavy wet snow, constantly getting stuck
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flounder
With Henry gone, Baloo stopped eating and was floundering.
—
Maya Salam, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025
Sony movies, for instance, have a streaming window exclusively on Netflix, where even those that floundered at the box office tend to get a big Netflix boost.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 29 Jan. 2025
Efforts to create an EU presidency also floundered in a swamp of competing power centers and polysyllabic titles.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
The 36-year-old Moore will join an organization that has floundered since the retirement of quarterback Drew Brees and departure of Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton.
—Brett Martel, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flounder
Maya Salam, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025
Sony movies, for instance, have a streaming window exclusively on Netflix, where even those that floundered at the box office tend to get a big Netflix boost.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 29 Jan. 2025
Efforts to create an EU presidency also floundered in a swamp of competing power centers and polysyllabic titles.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
The 36-year-old Moore will join an organization that has floundered since the retirement of quarterback Drew Brees and departure of Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton.
—Brett Martel, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flounder
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flounder
Verb
-
With Pochettino watching from the sidelines, the national team stumbled through its second lifeless loss in four days Sunday, falling to Canada 2-1 in the third place game of the CONCACAF Nations League before a tiny, mostly quiet crowd at SoFi Stadium.—
Kevin Baxter,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Mar. 2025
-
Warning: Spoilers ahead for Severance Ever since Helly and Mark stumbled upon a room filled with goats in Season 1 of Severance, fans have been wondering why Lumon is raising these animals in their walls.—
Eliana Dockterman,
TIME,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
But experts encourage borrowers to take at least one step to protect themselves while personnel and programs at ED get shuffled around or canceled: keep a record.—
Kamaron McNair,
CNBC,
13 Mar. 2025
-
Injuries have forced him to shuffle his lineup, yet the Celtics haven’t missed a beat.—
Don Yaeger,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
During that time, Dave was struggling with his problems.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
23 Mar. 2025
-
Of course, Maddie isn’t the only one struggling this week.—
Andy Swift,
TVLine,
23 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The Kiki Platform Mary Jane Few shoes have stomped their way into the fashion lexicon quite as rapidly as Marc Jacobs’s Kiki platforms.—
Lilah Ramzi,
Vogue,
18 Mar. 2025
-
Witnesses on the flight told authorities Augustin was stomping, yelling, shaking and being incoherent, the document continued.—
Jonathan Limehouse,
USA TODAY,
13 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
At the same time, there is growing concern about the health and environmental consequences of microplastics — the bits of degraded plastic that slough off as the product ages, or is used, or washed.—
Susanne Rust,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Oct. 2024
-
The crumbling Victorian to our left, devoured by weeds and sloughing off shingles, looked like something out of a Hitchcock movie.—
airmail.news,
airmail.news,
17 Aug. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Flounder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flounder. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share