bumbling
adjective
bum·bling
ˈbəm-b(ə-)liŋ 
: 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
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
Laura Collins-Hughes
Examples of bumbling in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This further exacerbates Joe's measly sheriff's office, consisting of two deputies who now double as his bumbling campaign staff.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 18 July 2025
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Bertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge The Doctor Foster and The Crown actor will portray the bumbling and ineffectual Minister for Magic during Harry's time at Hogwarts.
—Marni Rose McFall Orton, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 July 2025
The Oscar-winning director was recognized for his guest spot in The Studio, Apple’s comedy from Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen about a fictitious studio and its bumbling new leader.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 15 July 2025
The way Victor reads on camera—brilliant but a little bumbling, at turns sturdy and too vulnerable to live—is exactly how the characters’ friends receive her.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bumbling
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Randall Colburn, EW.com, 18 July 2025
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Bertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge The Doctor Foster and The Crown actor will portray the bumbling and ineffectual Minister for Magic during Harry's time at Hogwarts.
—Marni Rose McFall Orton, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 July 2025
The Oscar-winning director was recognized for his guest spot in The Studio, Apple’s comedy from Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen about a fictitious studio and its bumbling new leader.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 15 July 2025
The way Victor reads on camera—brilliant but a little bumbling, at turns sturdy and too vulnerable to live—is exactly how the characters’ friends receive her.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bumbling
Cite this Entry
“Bumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bumbling. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.
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