Founder

medium

FOWN-der

verb

Definition

(verb) To fail utterly; to sink (of a ship); to stumble

Examples

The peace talks foundered on the issue of borders.
The ship foundered in the storm, losing all cargo.

Synonyms

collapsefailmiscarrysink

Antonyms

succeedflourishprosperthrive

Categories

GRE Tip

Founder is a medium-difficulty GRE word. On the GRE, you might see it paired with synonyms like "collapse" or "fail" in Sentence Equivalence questions. Look for contrast clues (however, despite, although) that signal the opposite meaning. Words like "succeed".

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