“The startup floundered and closed its doors within a year.”
Confusables Entry 1012 / 1350 60-second read
Flounder vs. Founder
To struggle helplessly versus to sink or collapse.
The comparisoni
“The startup foundered and closed its doors within a year.”
The ruleii
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FLOUNDER = struggle. FOUNDER = fail completely.
FLOUNDER means to thrash awkwardly (like the fish). FOUNDER means to sink, collapse, or fail outright — from the same root as "foundation" giving way.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
A floundering business is still moving. A foundered business has gone down.