✅ Stumble means to walk unsteadily, especially in a way that suggests you might fall (She stumbled across the room).

✅ Bumble means to stumble or stagger in a way that suggests clumsiness or awkwardness (The toddler bumbled through the garden).

✅ Bumble can also mean to muddle or go through life in an aimless or clumsy way (She bumbled through the interview process).

✅ Stumble can also mean to get through something while having made a lot of mistakes (They stumbled through the presentation).

✅ A bow is a movement of bending at the waist or head in order to show respect, acknowledgement, thanks, or similar (I thanked him with a bow).

✅ A curtsy is a specific type of bow, involving bending the knees in a dip and sweeping a foot behind while maintaining a straight back (You must learn how to perform a curtsy at the beginning of the dance). If one is wearing a skirt, then the sides may be pulled away from the body during the dip of a curtsy.

✅ Curtsy and bow differ in motion but also in intention—a curtsy is traditionally performed to show respect or reverence in the presence of royalty.

✅ Ambush refers to the act of lying in wait and attacking unexpectedly. It can be literal or figurative (I thought I was ready for that question but they caught me in an ambush).

✅ An ambuscade is the same as an ambush (We plotted an ambuscade to capture Robin Hood’s men), but it is not as common.

✅ The word ambush has been used in English for longer than ambuscade, but ambuscade sounds more old-fashioned and is more formal.