floundered

VERB

struggle; be in the dark

Synonyms

STRONGEST

flop stumble wallow

STRONG

blunder bobble flummox fumble grope labor lurch muddle plunge pratfall snafu strive thrash toil toss travail tumble

WEAK

cast about come apart at the seams drop the ball fall down foul up go at backwards go to pieces make a mess of miss one's cue screw up slip up stub one's toe trip up work at

Antonyms

STRONG

idle laze

WEAK

do well succeed

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

floundered

While Russell has floundered a little, less comfortable with the car, and is still afflicted by bad luck, pace seems to flow from Antonelli so easily.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

The Bucks floundered without him and the coach paid the price.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026

Countries that industrialized, prospered; those that failed to industrialize, floundered.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

A franchise once so dominant they were dubbed the "Evil Empire," New England have floundered since Brady left in 2020, but they have been reborn this season under coach of the year Mike Vrabel.

From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026

Within hours, the coup had floundered, and instead of seizing power, the Pazzis were themselves seized.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day