bumbling

adjective

bum·​bling ˈbəm-b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce bumbling (audio)
Synonyms of bumblingnext
: awkwardly blundering or faltering
a bumbling speaker
: prone to or marked by foolish mistakes
a bumbling attempt to fix the problem
… many Americans see the F.D.A. as bumbling and inefficient …— Herbert Burkholz
bumblingly adverb
… none of them truly wants him in her home while he tries, bumblingly, to get his act together … — Laura Collins-Hughes

Examples of bumbling in a Sentence

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Griffith played the titular character with a strong moral compass while Knotts portrayed the bumbling, often over-eager deputy Barney Fife. — Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 21 Feb. 2025 This allowed the audience the treat of two bumbling acceptance speeches from the endearing Nick Park, and the sight of three grown men carrying toy models of Wallace, Gromit, and a gnome to the podium twice. — Sarah Crompton, Vogue, 17 Feb. 2025 Both films are about the preposterous beauty standards foisted upon women in our modern culture, yet both films seem determined to make these same women suffer, while portraying men as mostly bumbling buffoons whose chief infractions are wandering eyes. — Erik Kain, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025 But that’s mainly because Adams appears to be a bumbling small-timer -- an often incoherent ... — Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 11 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bumbling

Word History

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bumbling was in 1660

Rhymes for bumbling

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bumbling
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Cite this Entry

“Bumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bumbling. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

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