SCRAMBLING Synonyms: 81 Similar and Opposite Words

scrambling

verb

present participle of scramble

as in climbing

to move (as up or over something) often with the help of the hands in holding or pulling the toddler scrambled up the stairs

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in disrupting

to undo the proper order or arrangement of scrambled the letters of the word

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of scrambling With the presidential elections approaching next April, political parties are scrambling to position themselves in relation to a protest movement that has shown no sign of abating. — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026 Clint Mueller, deputy director of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, said local governments now are scrambling to determine what other fees might be affected. — David Wickert, AJC.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Schools closed before Isaias swept through the region last Friday and have been scrambling to make needed repairs to facilities while awaiting power restoration. — Ana Goñi-Lessan, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026 There’s a too-much-ness to Street Fighter that extends beyond its tone to an overstuffed and awkwardly unfurled plot that sends characters scrambling in all directions to no particular end. — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026 In the background, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is on-going, and the military is scrambling for recruits. — Katherine Brodsky, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026 Companies are scrambling to find specialized AI engineers who can put the technology to work inside businesses. — Barbara Booth, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026 Success can send candidates scrambling up the ladder of opportunity, but failure can consign them to never climbing it at all. — Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026 The incident sent a crowd of more than 1,000 spectators scrambling for safety. — Jason Rantala, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrambling

Verb

Bills and costs keep climbing, and households are being forced to stretch budgets that were already tight.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 14 Oct. 2026
The initial shock of this freak accident is well-handled, notably when Jay tries to scramble up the whale’s jawline by climbing its teeth.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of climbing

Verb

Habits are usually paired with physical or emotional cues, and disrupting those cues can disrupt the habit.

— Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Eight years ago, protesters frequently drove coverage in their preferred direction by disrupting candidates (Movimiento Cosecha pushed Biden to endorse a deportation moratorium, for instance) and showing up to press them at Q&As.

— David Weigel, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of disrupting

Verb

Commercial satellite operators are already clambering to claim space on Falcon 9s as the final sales are made.

— Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026
Sometimes only the tips of the reeds and the seed heads were visible, poking above the murky water, and other times the reeds stood fully exposed, with a clear view of crabs clambering around their bases.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of clambering

Verb

Green tea was served by gang members shuffling around in slippers.

— Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Ivey and his partner persuaded the Crockfords dealer to rotate the high-value cards 180 degrees before shuffling them back into the pack, citing some obscure superstition as justification.

— Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of shuffling

Verb

Bill Belichick has made a Hall of Fame career on confusing young quarterbacks.

— Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
The crowd even includes Sam, who has a fun moment catching up with Roy and confusing him with an observation that sounds like it was inspired by The Wizard of Oz.

— Keith Phipps, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of confusing

Verb

Furthermore, the use of economic arguments to justify oppression has disturbing historical precedent.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
Police Chief Paul Joseph said at a press conference on Tuesday that Lieu had a criminal history involving firearms and disturbing behavior.

— Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of disturbing

Browse Nearby Words

scrambles

scrambling

scrammed

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“Scrambling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrambling. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of scrambling

verb

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