shambles 1 of 2

plural noun

ˈsham-bəlz How to pronounce shambles (audio)
Definition of shamblesnext
1
as in dump
a dirty or messy place this room is a shambles—clean it up right now!

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in mess
a state in which everything is out of order the earthquake left the whole town in a shambles

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

shambles

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of shamble
as in shuffles
to move heavily or clumsily disconsolate and exhausted after losing the match, the wrestler shambled toward the locker room

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shambles
  1. shuffles
  2. stumbles
  3. stomps
Verb
  • My brother looks at the floor, mumbles something, and then shuffles away from the table.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The line shuffles forward quickly, and my heart knots in my chest as Heartfillers are dosed to each person up ahead.
    — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of shuffles
Verb
  • Even as Heath stumbles his way through the lyrics, the audience respectfully claps along to the beat.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Lizard Music follows a boy (Theo Clark Leber) left to his own devices who stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, and a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of stumbles
Verb
  • His creator, an unnamed basket-weaver (Peter Dinklage), braided him as a mate for a lonely virgin, a fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) who stomps around her rustic village smelling like sushi and tossing her head back in an Eliza Doolittle guffaw.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • At one point Evans stomps in to a Fielder secondary interview to try to stop it.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of stomps
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

shambled
shambles
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Cite this Entry

“Shambles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shambles. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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