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.

Complacency was the exact thing that general manager Kelly McCrimmon was looking to eliminate when he fired coach Bruce Cassidy 74 games into the regular season as the Golden Knights floundered.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

But he floundered at sea and was picked up by Chinese fishermen, who handed him to the police.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 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

I floundered for a killer put-down line without any stammer words in it.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell