Synonyms

floundering

American

[floun-der-ing] / ˈflaʊn dər ɪŋ /

adjective

struggling, especially clumsily or helplessly.

The vast leap from tonal music to modernism was left to the floundering student to make, unaided.
These classic writing mistakes are guaranteed to unlock the door to instant failure and free you to flop like a floundering fish on the floor.
in imminent danger of failure or catastrophic loss.

The floundering venture laid off half its 200 employees and its chairman resigned.
The player’s 2017 campaign not only revived what looked like a floundering career, it proved to be one of the best he'd ever had in the big leagues.

noun

a clumsy, violent, or chaotic struggle.

With many awkward flounderings, and much spluttering, I managed to keep barely afloat until I reached the shore.
The floundering of the economy in the last decade has left many hardworking individuals without a job.

Other Word Forms

flounderingly adverb
unfloundering adjective

Etymology

Origin of floundering

First recorded in 1590–1600; flounder ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; flounder ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun sense

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.

The Dane breathed a sigh of relief after a 2-0 midweek win against Borussia Dortmund kept his team flying high in the Champions League but they are floundering domestically.

From Barron's

Wall Street is hopeful that Moderna’s pipeline of cancer drugs can drive earnings growth, at a time when the company’s core respiratory vaccine business is floundering.

From Barron's

Still, Allen can sympathize with what he calls the “weird conundrum” that Garrett is going through by having such a successful season on a team that’s floundering.

From The Wall Street Journal

“When the rest of us were floundering around,” Thompson says, “he kind of knew what to do with his life.”

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023