floundering

American  

[floun-der-ing] / ˈflaʊn dər ɪŋ /

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.

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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

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

By 2017, one of its early projects, called Universe, which aimed to train AI agents to play games and use computers like humans, was floundering.

From The Wall Street Journal

Having only one friend that you depend on for everything can leave a person floundering if something happens to that person.

From The Wall Street Journal

And in floundering the ending, “Undertone” reminds us that tranquility can be far more unsettling than a cacophony of sight and sound.

From Salon

When I went up to pull them over, floundering in the deep snow, they ignored me, tried to shrug away my hand.

From Literature

Instead the headlines were about Ms. Noem’s floundering, including under hard questions from Republican Senators.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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