to founder
1
8.0
- verb
- /ˈfaʊndər/
:
desplomarse
- In room 518, Hatch foundered in a sea of bad dreams that were nothing but disassociated images melding into one another without even the illogical narrative flow that usually shaped nightmares.
Examples
-
Joel was a creature foundering.
Fiction book (1992) -
He foundered.
Fiction book (1990) -
"He shook his head, foundering."
Fiction book (1991) -
Around and around I go in the darkness like a thread in a knot, until my heart is foundering.
Fiction book (1995) -
Suddenly, Zark foundered, flailed his arms, and went under.
Fiction book (1998) -
Horses that are obese may suddenly founder (this is common in ponies).
Blog text (14) -
Horses and mules still foundered, struggling to break free of the muck.
Fiction book (1994) -
Sisco dragged a foundering mule from the edge of the swampy bottom onto higher ground, both pulling on a thick rope wrapped around a water oak's trunk.
Fiction book (1994) -
As the storm intensified, the small boat began to founder in the turbulent waves.
-
The tired hiker stumbled and nearly foundered after a long day on the trail.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Move or drop down from a higher to a lower place
250
1.0
Suddenly move from a standing position to the ground or a lower level
129
1.6
To trip or lose balance while walking and almost fall
Antonyms
Compounds
How Unsteady
Surface Forms
Etymology
The verb founder (to stumble or nearly fall) originally had the sense of 'to sink' or 'collapse', so it paints the picture of a tired person or animal who suddenly loses strength and falls. That is why to founder can mean to stagger, collapse, or fail because of weakness.