BUNGLE Synonyms: 85 Similar and Opposite Words

bungle 1 of 2

verb

ˈbəŋ-gəl

Definition of bungle

as in to fumble

to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way bungled the job the first time she tried to do it

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

bungle

2 of 2

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 bungle

Verb

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who polled at 5% in the CBS survey, accused Becerra of bungling the federal government’s response to COVID-19, mpox and the influx in child migrants under former President Joe Biden. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 29 Apr. 2026 Authorities bungle the case but still arrest a maintenance worker for the killings. — Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026

Noun

With suspiciously fortuitous timing, Andy is snapped up as Runway’s new features editor—a move that Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman), the Si Newhouse-esque head of Elias-Clarke, hopes will salvage what remains of the publication’s credibility in the wake of Miranda’s bungle. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2026 In addition to Robinhood’s Platinum card, there is Citi’s $695-per-year Strata Elite, whose debut last year was marred by an application-process bungle that saw the bank freeze thousands of accounts—but which has proved popular nonetheless. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 30 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bungle

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bungle

Verb

In Madison’s Capitol Times, Paul Fanlud detected some worry from Wikler that Democrats might fumble their project of governing Wisconsin long enough to reform it.

— David Weigel, semafor.com, 22 July 2026
On Sunday, the Guardians essentially created a compilation video for Little League coaches to show their kids, a crash course in fumbling the fundamentals.

— Zack Meisel, New York Times, 21 July 2026

Definition of fumble

Verb

That so many teams were capable of winning races showed how well the crews performed, especially considering the breeze was again blowing strongly across the Solent, around 17 knots and sometimes gusting over 20.

— Andrew Rice, New York Times, 26 July 2026
Things were never the same for Mike McCarthy after Green Bay blew a 16-0 halftime lead and a 19-7 advantage in the final 3 minutes against Seattle and lost the 2014 NFC Championship Game, 28-22, in overtime.

— Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026

Definition of blow

Noun

Mara’s hands can be an issue with bobbles and turnovers, and his lateral foot speed is concerning.

— Sam Vecenie, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2026
Ordinary humans like Stephen’s selfish boss are depicted as giant walking eggs, while others are proportioned like bobble heads.

— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 11 Apr. 2026

Definition of bobble

Verb

Floyd is no longer attracted to his wife, has trouble connecting with his teen-age stepson, and owes tens of thousands in taxes—a set of stressors that are ruining his health.

— Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 July 2026
That would ruin a good thing, apparently, and Foerster credited Puni for not only playing through a knee injury last fall but overcoming early-career growing pains.

— Cam Inman, Mercury News, 20 July 2026

Definition of ruin

Verb

The latter two heat waves have been caused by a thick ridge of high pressure — dubbed a heat dome by the weather service — that has wielded influence for weeks.

— Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 24 July 2026
Season four will follow that trend and has been dubbed Queen of the Damned.

— Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2026

Definition of dub

Browse Nearby Words

bunging up

bungle

bungled

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Bungle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bungle. Accessed 28 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of bungle

verb

noun

Example Sentences

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