foundering 1 of 2

noun

Definition of founderingnext
as in sinking

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

foundering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of founder
1
as in collapsing
to be unsuccessful the theater company foundered after its corporate funding dried up

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tumbling
to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure the twin towers started to sway and suddenly foundered

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for foundering
  1. collapsing
  2. failing
  3. struggling
  4. folding
  5. missing
Verb
  • At the time of the forecasts, demand for OPEC oil was collapsing, making a prediction of near-term weakness seem unavoidable, but the presumption that price increases were inevitable generated an assumption that markets would revert to the ‘normal’ trend beyond the foreseeable future.
    Michael Lynch, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
  • Linda jumps into action, giving the tree a full-body hug to prevent it from collapsing on Drew.
    Tabitha Parent, People.com, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of collapsing
Verb
  • With an average home now hosting around 12 connected devices, failing to monitor network activity could lead to unauthorized access and potential data breaches.
    Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, Fox News, 24 Dec. 2024
  • In 2013, rapper Fat Joe served four months in prison for failing to pay taxes on over $3 million in earnings.
    Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of failing
Verb
  • Key young players struggling Tortorella isn’t wrong that Michkov has seemed to hit a wall of late.
    Kevin Kurz, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Amid a torrent of alarming headlines calling out rising sea temperatures, melting ice sheets and struggling coral reefs, new discoveries about our ocean sparked wonder.
    Danielle Hall, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of struggling
Verb
  • However, its Optimus robots, seen folding laundry in a demo video earlier this year, were criticized for being operated by humans using controls, rather than acting autonomously.
    Pia Singh, CNBC, 21 Dec. 2024
  • My proposal is that Healey, even standing at only 5 feet, 4 inches, pose for a folding chair photo with the Boston Celtics the way Dukakis did.
    Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 21 Dec. 2024
Definition of folding
Verb
  • Curry didn’t take a first-quarter shot against the Pacers and only had four in the first half, missing all of them.
    Anthony Slater, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
  • The 20-17 overtime win against the Giants was like a three-hour reminder of what the Panthers had been missing the first half of the season.
    Joseph Person, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of missing
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near foundering

foundered

foundering

founders

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Foundering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foundering. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on foundering

Nglish: Translation of foundering for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...