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

Attempts at diplomacy have floundered as fighting escalates on several fronts across Africa's third-largest country.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

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

While Ferrari, the pre-race favourites, floundered and made, in the words of their team boss Frederic Vasseur "too many mistakes", Norris and McLaren were almost perfect.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 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

“Well ...” He floundered as he examined my smile, clearly not happy with my response.

From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer