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Flounder is a relatively common verb that current evidence dates to the late 16th century, when it was likely born by means of an alteration of an older verb, founder. The two have been confused ever since. Today, founder is most often used as a synonym of fail, or, in the case of a waterborne vessel, as a word meaning "to fill with water and sink." Formerly, it was also frequently applied when a horse stumbled badly and was unable to keep walking. It's likely this sense of founder led to the original and now-obsolete meaning of flounder: "to stumble." In modern use, flounder typically means "to struggle" or "to act clumsily"; the word lacks the finality of founder, which usually denotes complete collapse or failure, as that of a sunken ship.
Synonyms
Examples of flounder in a Sentence
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2024
In the immediate aftermath of both the Kursk incursion and Prigozhin’s mutiny, Russian state television, used to being directed from above, was left to flounder.
—Peter Pomerantsev, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2024
Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 11 Oct. 2024
But not long after, as the entire industry floundered during the pandemic, the label dropped Roan from their roster.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 10 Sep. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near flounder
Cite this Entry
“Flounder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flounder. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
flounder
1 of 2 noun
flounder
2 of 2 verb
Noun
Middle English flounder "a flatfish"; of Scandinavian origin
Verb
probably an altered form of founder
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