stumblingly
1
7.0
- adverb
- /ˈstʌmbəlɪŋli/
:
titubeando
- As he navigated the crowded room, he moved stumblingly, bumping into chairs and other guests along the way.
Examples
-
It is two and a half hours later when we get alongside the ship, and I am chilled to the bone, sick and dizzy for want of food and sleep, and I climb stumblingly across the narrow, slippery, plunging path that leads from one ship to the other.
Blog text (22) -
"I come from a different social... a different economic" background, she stumblingly explains.
Academic text (1993) -
I guess that what I am stumblingly trying to express is a wish for a book that makes everything clear in retrospect.
Blog text (4) -
Jenny comments that "he described it meticulously" (35), or that he "explained this part of his story stumblingly" (38).
Academic text (2017) -
When people have asked me what I think the difference is between poetry and prose, I have sometimes, stumblingly, tried to articulate what you have so eloquently written: that the nature of poetry
Blog text (32) -
I was haltingly, stumblingly beginning to use my literacy in English to become literate in other languages—and economically valuable ones, at that.
Blog text (25) -
After tripping over the curb, he walked stumblingly down the street, trying to regain his balance.
-
She spoke stumblingly during her presentation, struggling to find the right words in front of the large audience.
Synonyms
12
2.8
In an awkward way that shows little skill or control
7
3.9
In a way that is not steady or balanced
1
5.2
With sudden, uneven movements that are not smooth
1
7.3
In a way that feels dizzy and unsteady
1
9.6
In a clumsy way, especially when moving or singing
1
7.4
In a slow, unsure way that shows little confidence
With an unsteady, unsure voice or movement that shows doubt
In a clumsy, hesitant way when someone moves or speaks
With sudden, unsteady movements that make you lose balance
To move or sound in short sudden ways that are not smooth
In a clumsy way that causes problems
In a stopping and starting way with short repeated pauses
To move clumsily and unsteadily, like a new skater
Antonyms
How Smooth
Surface Forms
Morphology
stumblingly = stumbling (transparent) = stumble + ing + ly
The adverb is formed regularly from 'stumbling' with -ly, and the meaning closely matches the base expression.
Etymology
Stumblingly comes from the verb stumble, which means 'to trip' or 'almost fall', plus the adverb ending -ly. So to do something stumblingly is to do it in an awkward, unsteady way, like someone who trips while walking or who trips over their words when speaking.