floundering

[floun-der-ing]

adjective

1. 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.

2. 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

1. 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of floundering¹

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

While women’s relative economic position has improved, many men are floundering.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Yet Harjo wrote Lee as a tragicomic figure perpetually floundering his way through his investigations and his life, taking his share of black eyes and deadly near-misses in the bargain.

Read more on Salon

With her teenage son attending boarding school in New York, and the loss of both her parents, she was increasingly lonely at home; and floundering professionally.

Read more on BBC

Park’s not indifferent to normie concerns, such as family tensions and floundering careers, communities and their discontents.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

While plot details are being kept under wraps, the movie reportedly follows Streep’s Miranda as she navigates a floundering magazine publishing industry. and reunites with Blunt’s character, Emily Charlton, who is now a high-powered executive.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amateurish 
• helpless 
• inadequate 
• incapable 
• ineffectual 
• inefficient 
• inept 
• inexperienced 
• unqualified 
• unskilled 
• useless