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

Other U.S.-based sodium-ion startups have floundered of late.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

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

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

Borthwick, whose side have floundered in defeats by Scotland and Ireland in the past two rounds of the Six Nations, said the pressure that comes with being an England coach is a constant.

From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026

“Like a play, you know,” Kit floundered, confused by the increasing horror on both their faces.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare