What does floundering mean?
Word: Floundering
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Floundering means struggling clumsily to move in water or mud, or struggling because you do not know what to say or do.
Synonyms: struggling, stumbling, thrashing
Antonyms: coping, succeeding
How do you spell floundering?
Syllables: floun - der - ing
Tricky part: The vowel sound in the middle is written ou, as in found. Do not mix it up with founder, which means to sink.
Watch out for: flowndering, flondering, floundring
Memory tip: Floundering has the ou of found: when you have not found your feet, you are floundering.
Floundering in a sentence
Example 1: The calf was floundering in the muddy pond until the farmers pulled it out.
Example 2: When the quizmaster asked a surprise question, I was floundering for an answer.
Example 3: The new shop was floundering until it started home delivery.
Fun Fact
A flounder is also a real flat fish that lies on the sea floor; as it grows, one of its eyes moves so both end up on the same side of its head.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Puzzle
Match the words with their meanings:
1. floundering 2. flourishing 3. fluttering a. struggling to move or to know what to do b. moving wings quickly and lightly c. growing or doing very well
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
b) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
d) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
Show answer
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b. Floundering is struggling, flourishing is doing well and fluttering is quick, light wing movement.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the sentence?
Our little rowing boat was flounderring in the choppy waves until a fisherman tossed us a rope.
a) 2
b) 0
c) 1
d) 3
Show answer
c) 1. Flounder ends in an unstressed er, so the r stays single before ing; tossed is correct.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) floundering
b) thousand
c) boundary
d) mountian
Show answer
d) mountian. Mountain ends in ain, as in fountain.
Spell Probe
Find the misspelt word in the sentence and choose its meaning:
The puppy was floundering in the paddling pool until my brother lifted it out with a soft towle.
a) a young dog
b) lifted something up gently
c) a piece of cloth used for drying things
d) a small pool for children to splash in
Show answer
c) a piece of cloth used for drying things. Towle should be towel, the cloth that dried the puppy.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A student floundering in a test is probably ____.
a) sleeping peacefully
b) finishing early with ease
c) unsure how to answer
d) helping the teacher
Show answer
c) unsure how to answer
2. Which sign shows that a business is floundering?
a) a shop losing customers every month
b) a shop opening a second branch
c) a shop with a long queue outside
d) a shop winning a city award
Show answer
a) a shop losing customers every month
