Complete Definition of "flounder"

wikipedia
English

Pronunciation
audio|en-us-flounder.ogg|Audio (US)
:Rhymes: Rhymes:English:-a�nd�(r)|-a�nd�(r)

Noun
en-noun|flounder

  1. countable Any of various flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae or Bothidae.

Translations

Chinese: ���, ��鱼
Danish: skrubbe
Dutch: bot de
Finnish: kampela
French: flet m
German: Scholle f
Greek: �λε��ονήκ�η� (plevroniktis) m, (colloquial:) �η��ί (pisi) n
Italian: sogliola f
mid
Japanese: 平�, ��� (hirame), ��� (mogaki)
Korean: ��리
Portuguese: solha f
Russian: камбала(kámbala) f
Spanish: platija f
Swedish: flundra

Verb
en-verb

  1. intransitive To flop around as a fish out of land
  2. intransitive To make clumsy attempts to move or regain one's balance.

#:Robert yanked Connie's leg vigorously, causing her to flounder and eventually fall.

  1. intransitive To act clumsy|clumsily or confused; to struggle or be flustered.

#:He gave a good speech, but floundered when audience members asked questions he could not answer well.

Quotations
;to act clumsily
1996, w:Janette Turner Hospital|Janette Turner Hospital, w:Oyster (novel)|Oyster, Virago Press, paperback edition, page 136
:He is assessing directions, but he is not lost, not floundering.

Usage notes
Frequently confused with the verb founder. The difference is one of severity; floundering (struggling to maintain a position) comes before foundering, losing it completely by falling, sinking or failing.

Category:English nouns with irregularballs p
Category:Fish
Category:Swedish derivations

fr:flounder
io:flounder
pl:flounder
ru:flounder
fi:flounder
te:flounder
vi:flounder
zh:flounder

Revision and Credits for"flounder"
  • 2007-12-18 00:55 - EncycloPetey - Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/66.56.235.135|66.56.235.135]] ([[User_talk:66.56.235.135|Talk]]); changed back to last version by [[User:208.1.217.193|208.1.217.193]]

  • Full Revision History
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