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

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

Recent Examples on the Web

In the film, Police Squad Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Neeson) follows in the bumbling footsteps of his late father, Lt. Frank Drebin Sr. (Nielsen). —Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025

Nielsen played the bumbling LAPD lieutenant Frank Drebin with sincerity, making the absurdity around him all the funnier. —David Sims, The Atlantic, 1 Aug. 2025

Peter Sellers originated the role of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau in the franchise's original 1963 film The Pink Panther, and reprised his role in five sequels before his death in 1980 at the age of 54. —Mekishana Pierre, EW.com, 28 July 2025

The Osbournes and their bumbling patriarch simply arrived at the right moment. —Ashley Lee, NBC news, 23 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bumbling

• crumbling
• fumbling
• grumbling
• humbling
• mumbling
• rumbling
• stumbling
• tumbling