as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
disconsolate and exhausted after losing the match, the wrestler shambled toward the locker room
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Recent Examples of shamble
One nickname — Zombie tranq — reflects shambling from deep sedation.
—
Pat Beall, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Jan. 2025
Its ambling, shambling tour of crashing parties, crashing on available couches, and reluctantly crashing your way into maturity, one misadventure at a time, is not a bug but a feature here.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024
The cultural preoccupation with zombies shambles on in The Last of Us and other movies and video games.
—Neda Ulaby, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024
To this end, the new generation of morticians (another neologism meant to conjure expertise) bought up shambling Victorian mansions in swish residential districts and invented a new form of comfort.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for shamble
Pat Beall, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Jan. 2025
Its ambling, shambling tour of crashing parties, crashing on available couches, and reluctantly crashing your way into maturity, one misadventure at a time, is not a bug but a feature here.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024
The cultural preoccupation with zombies shambles on in The Last of Us and other movies and video games.
—Neda Ulaby, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024
To this end, the new generation of morticians (another neologism meant to conjure expertise) bought up shambling Victorian mansions in swish residential districts and invented a new form of comfort.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for shamble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shamble
Verb
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All week, campers were shuffled from one activity to the next, mixing games, prayers and church services with lectures that coincide with lessons from the Bible.—
Paul Bersebach,
Oc Register,
12 July 2025
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Guevara, 47, has been shuffled through three detention sites despite Immigration Judge James Ward’s decision to grant him bond on July 1, according to The Associated Press.—
Ashleigh Fields,
The Hill,
9 July 2025
Verb
-
Hegseth, a former Fox TV host who has stumbled through several controversies during his six months in office, sat silently next to Trump without volunteering any information about the decision that apparently came on his watch.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
9 July 2025
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After a dramatic event, like an underwater landslide, covered her in sediment, her body remained hidden until 16 years ago, when scientists stumbled upon the nearly pristine fossil of the animal—a dolphin-like marine predator—and unearthed it for further research.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 July 2025
Verb
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Eighteen months ago, playing those songs inspired fans at the Ryman Auditorium to stomp their feet, throw Resistol hats in the air and soak church pews in alcohol for two hours.—
Marcus K. Dowling,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
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Complaining on NextDoor about traffic, some locals fled downtown Austin like a movie monster was stomping behind them.—
Ramon Ramirez,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shamble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shamble. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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