bungle

verb

bun·​gle ˈbəŋ-gəl 

bungled; bungling ˈbəŋ-g(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

: to act or work clumsily and awkwardly

bungled badly in the campaign

transitive verb

: mishandle, botch

bungle a job

bungled the investigation

bungle noun

bungler

ˈbəŋ-g(ə-)lər 

noun

Synonyms of bungle

• fumble
• blow
• botch
• ruin
• dub

Examples of bungle in a Sentence

The government bungled badly in planning the campaign.

bungled the job the first time she tried to do it

Recent Examples on the Web

The Chiefs bungled it in more ways than one, more than that fourth-down call, even if the most glaring is the decision to settle for three. —Sam McDowell 4, Kansas City Star, 4 Nov. 2025

Gentleman thief Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven) circles the prize while Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) bungles the pursuit with sublime obliviousness. —Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2025

The misfiring of Smashing Machine comes in the wake of A24 bungling the opening of horror-comedy, Death of a Unicorn, back in the spring, which after a receptive world premiere at SXSW with Wednesday megastar, Jenna Ortega, tanked with a $5.7M opening and final $12.8M domestic. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2025

One day, calling kids up to get pizza for a class lunch, the teacher repeatedly and purposely bungled her name. —Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Icelandic banga to hammer

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for bungle

• antifungal
• fungal
• jungle

Kids Definition

bungle

verb

bun·​gle ˈbəŋ-gəl 

bungled; bungling -g(ə-)liŋ 

: to act, do, make, or work badly

bungle a job

bungle noun

bungler

-g(ə-)ler 

noun