flounder

flounder

to struggle clumsily: He floundered helplessly on the first day of his new job.; falter; waver; flop about; a marine flatfish

Not to be confused with:

founder – to fall or sink down; to become wrecked; to stumble; collapse; succumb: The project foundered because public support was lacking.

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

floun·der ¹

 (floun′dər)

intr.v. floun·dered, floun·der·ing, floun·ders

1. To move clumsily or with little progress, as through water or mud. See Synonyms at blunder.

2. To act or function in a confused or directionless manner; struggle: "Some ... floundered professionally, never quite deciding what they wanted to do" (Steve Olson). See Usage Note at founder¹.

n.

The act of floundering.

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[Probably alteration of founder.]

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floun·der ²

 (floun′dər)

n. pl. flounder or floun·ders

Any of various marine flatfishes chiefly of the families Bothidae and Pleuronectidae, including several important food fishes.

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[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman floundre, of Scandinavian origin; see plat- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

flounder

(ˈflaʊndə)

vb (intr)

1. to struggle; to move with difficulty, as in mud

2. to behave awkwardly; make mistakes

n

the act of floundering

[C16: probably a blend of founder² + blunder; perhaps influenced by flounder²]

Usage: Flounder is sometimes wrongly used where founder is meant: the project foundered (not floundered) because of a lack of funds

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flounder

(ˈflaʊndə)

n, pl -der or -ders

1. (Animals) Also called: fluke a European flatfish, Platichthys flesus having a greyish-brown body covered with prickly scales: family Pleuronectidae: an important food fish

2. (Animals) US and Canadian any flatfish of the families Bothidae (turbot, etc) and Pleuronectidae (plaice, halibut, sand dab, etc)

[C14: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse flythra, Norwegian flundra]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

floun•der¹

(ˈflaʊn dər)

v.i.

1. to struggle with stumbling or plunging movements: to flounder in the mud.

2. to struggle clumsily, helplessly, or falteringly: I floundered for an excuse.

[1570–80; perhaps b. flounce¹ and founder²]

floun′der•ing•ly, adv.

floun•der²

(ˈflaʊn dər)

n., pl. (esp. collectively) -der, (esp. for kinds or species) -ders.

any of the flatfishes of the families Pleuronectidae and Bothidae, esp. those valued as food, as the North Atlantic Platichthys flesus (European flounder) and various plaices, soles, and turbots.

[1400–50; late Middle English < Anglo-French floundre < Scandinavian; compare Norwegian flundra]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

flounder

Past participle: floundered
Gerund: floundering

Imperative

flounder

flounder

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	flounder - flesh of any of various American and European flatfish flatfish - sweet lean whitish flesh of any of numerous thin-bodied fish; usually served as thin fillets yellowtail flounder - flesh of American flounder having a yellowish tail plaice - flesh of large European flatfish turbot - flesh of a large European flatfish sand dab - the lean flesh of a small flounder from the Pacific coast of North America lemon sole, winter flounder - flesh of American flounder; important in the winter
	2.	flounder - any of various European and non-European marine flatfish flatfish - any of several families of fishes having flattened bodies that swim along the sea floor on one side of the body with both eyes on the upper side
Verb	1.	flounder - walk with great difficulty; "He staggered along in the heavy snow" stagger walk - use one's feet to advance; advance by steps; "Walk, don't run!"; "We walked instead of driving"; "She walks with a slight limp"; "The patient cannot walk yet"; "Walk over to the cabinet"
	2.	flounder - behave awkwardly; have difficulties; "She is floundering in college" struggle, fight - make a strenuous or labored effort; "She struggled for years to survive without welfare"; "He fought for breath"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

flounder

verb

1. falter, struggle, stall, slow down, run into trouble, come unstuck (informal), be in difficulties, hit a bad patch The economy was floundering.

2. dither, struggle, blunder, be confused, falter, be in the dark, be out of your depth The president is floundering, trying to jump-start his campaign.

3. struggle, struggle, toss, thrash, plunge, stumble, tumble, muddle, fumble, grope, wallow men floundering about in the water

Usage: Flounder is sometimes wrongly used where founder is meant: the project foundered (not floundered) because of lack of funds.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

flounder

verb

1. To proceed or perform in an unsteady, faltering manner:

blunder, bumble, bungle, fudge, fumble, limp, muddle, shuffle, stagger, stumble.

2. To move about in an indolent or clumsy manner:

wallow, welter.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

يَتَخَبَّط في، يَغوص في الوَحِل

plácat se

fægte med arme og bensprælle

FlunderzappelnButt

γλώσσαπαραπαίω

andar dificultosamenterevolcarse

kampela

fletpatauger

bukdácsollepényhal

flyîra

dimenarsipasserasogliola

도다리

kapanotiskapstytis

ķepuroties

flyndrekaste seg fram og tilbakeskrubbesprelle

flądra

solha

камбала

flundra

çırpınmak

挣扎

flounder

¹ [ˈflaʊndəʳ] N (flounder or flounders (pl)) (= fish) → platija f

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flounder

² [ˈflaʊndəʳ] VI

1. (also flounder about) (in water, mud etc) (= flap arms) → debatirse; (= splash) → revolcarse

2. (in speech etc) → perder el hilo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

flounder

[ˈflaʊndə^r]

n (= fish) → flet m

vi (= fail) → battre de l'aile
to be floundering [person] (= lack direction and decision) → tourner en rond

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

flounder

¹

n (= fish) → Flunder f

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flounder

²

vi

(lit) → sich abstrampeln, sich abzappeln; a stranded whale floundering on the beach → ein gestrandeter Wal, der sich am Strand abquält; we floundered about in the mud → wir quälten uns mühselig im Schlamm

(fig) → sich abzappeln (inf), → sich abstrampeln (inf); the company/economy was floundering → der Firma/Wirtschaft ging es schlecht; his career floundered → mit seiner Karriere ging es abwärts; to start to flounder → ins Schwimmen kommen; to flounder through something → sich durch etw wursteln or mogeln (inf); he floundered on → er wurstelte weiter

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

flounder

¹ [ˈflaʊndəʳ] vi (also flounder about) (in water, mud) → dibattersi, annaspare; (in speech) → impappinarsi, esitare

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flounder

² [flaʊndəʳ] n (fish) → passera di mare

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

flounder

(ˈflaundə) verb

to move one's legs and arms violently and with difficulty (in water, mud etc). She floundered helplessly in the mud. spartel يَتَخَبَّط في، يَغوص في الوَحِل цапам debater-se plácat se zappeln sprælle; fægte med arme og ben τσαλαβούτω, παραδέρνωpatalear kahlama دست و پا زدن räpiköidä patauger לְפַרפֵּר अटकना, घबरा जाना koprcati se bukdácsol menggapai-gapai flyðra dibattersi もがく 버둥거리다 kapanotis, kapstytis ķepuroties mengapa-gapai spartelensprelle, kaste seg fram og tilbake brnąć, szamotać się زوروهلو، لاس او پښى وهل، تپېدل، ښويېدل، بندېدل (په خبرو كى): اشتباه كول debater-se a se zbate барахтаться hádzať sa bresti batrgati se sprattla, tumla, rulla ตะเกียกตะกายฝ่า (น้ำ, โคลน) çırpınmak 掙扎 борсатися لڑکھڑا کر آگے بڑھنا loạng choạng 挣扎

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.