Synonyms of struggling

struggling 1 of 2

adjective

as in failing

Related Words

• failing
• dying
• declining
• languishing
• floundering
• unsuccessful
• bankrupt
• depressed
• insolvent
• unprosperous
• bankrupted

Dissimilar Words

• successful
• healthy
• thriving
• booming
• flourishing
• prosperous
• golden
• roaring
• wealthy
• substantial
• affluent
• rich
• lush
• prospering
• palmy
• halcyon
• moneyed
• well-to-do
• comfortable
• opulent
• boomy
• well-off
• well-heeled

struggling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of struggle

1

as in stumbling

to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually

each week I would struggle through my piano lesson, keenly aware that I wasn't getting any better

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stumbling
• floundering
• shuffling
• trudging
• limping
• blundering
• fumbling
• lurching
• bumbling
• plodding
• faltering
• swaying
• lumbering
• reeling
• jogging
• flogging
• shambling
• staggering
• tottering
• wallowing
• muddling
• teetering
• weltering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• flying
• coasting
• sailing
• gliding
• zooming
• zipping
• kilting

2

as in striving

to devote serious and sustained effort

the financially strapped couple struggled to make ends meet

Synonyms & Similar Words

• striving
• laboring
• working
• trying
• endeavoring
• toiling
• tugging
• sweating
• hustling
• plowing
• straining
• slaving
• digging (away)
• grubbing
• banging away
• humping
• slogging
• plodding
• pegging (away)
• plugging
• drudging
• travailing
• fagging
• moiling
• applying (oneself)
• sweating blood
• attacking
• beavering (away)
• buckling (down)
• hammering (away)
• exerting
• scratching
• driving
• pitching in
• exercising
• digging in
• essaying
• scrabbling
• wading
• overworking
• grinding (out)
• eking out
• trudging
• knuckling down
• overexerting
• putting out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breaking
• slackening
• easing (up)
• hanging (around or out)
• idling
• letting up
• lounging
• resting
• bumming
• chilling
• shirking
• loafing
• relaxing
• slacking (off)
• playing
• unwinding
• hanging
• goofing (off)
• hacking (around)
• lazing
• basking
• dallying
• lolling
• reposing
• dabbling
• goldbricking
• fooling around
• dillydallying
• trifling
• messing around
• vegging out
• footling
• doodling
• hanging about
• goofing (around)
• puttering (around)
• monkeying (around)
• pottering (around)
• fribbling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of struggling

Adjective

In The Idol Depp plays Jocelyn, a struggling pop star who becomes entangled with manipulative, sleazy nightclub owner Tedros (Tesfaye). — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Sep. 2026

Licata and Fort Worth ISD’s Board of Managers implemented the Elevate model for the district’s most struggling campuses shortly after they were appointed to their jobs by the Texas Education Agency as part of its takeover of the district. — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026

Their goal is to release them back into the wild to help restore struggling populations. — Alex Lehnert, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026

Verb

Mitchell-Namdar said Pink Aid’s mission is to provide emergency aid assistance to those struggling during treatment, whether that means paying an electric bill, rent, offering wigs or lymphedema sleeves. — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026

Many mid- and late-career working-class comics who would normally build the bridge to younger generations are struggling to make a living. — Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026

She's been homeless and struggling for years and in and out of prison. — Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026

Property taxes cannot be the long-term solution alone, especially when longtime homeowners already struggling. — Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026

Gamecock’s quarterback LaNorris Sellers, a 6-foot-3, 238-pound dual-threat, is fresh off a 147-yard rushing performance during an overtime loss to Kentucky and figures to challenge a struggling Florida defense’s ability to contain him. — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026

British pubs are struggling, with 161 shutting in the first quarter of 2026, up 26% from a year earlier. — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026

Cuba is struggling with a severe economic crisis now in its fifth year. — ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026

The program aims to support youth struggling with substance use or other mental health disorders and high -risk behaviors that threaten their well-being by expanding access to community support and mentorship. — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026