as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
the first time we tried to make a cake, we botched the job completely
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in jumble
an unorganized collection or mixture of various things
this police procedural is basically a botch of plot elements stolen from other (and better) novels
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of botch
Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 9 May 2026
Capricor Therapeutics is suing its Japanese partner Nippon Shinyaku and subsidiary NS Pharma, arguing the companies botched launch preparations for deramiocel, the biotech’s closely watched Duchenne muscular dystrophy cell therapy.
—Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 8 May 2026
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 June 2025
Those communication botches, whether on the break or in the half court, often include Towns, who once again vanished as a scorer.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for botch
Verb
Rollins botched a counter attempt, but Breakker covered it up with a standing moonsault for two.
—Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 9 May 2026
Capricor Therapeutics is suing its Japanese partner Nippon Shinyaku and subsidiary NS Pharma, arguing the companies botched launch preparations for deramiocel, the biotech’s closely watched Duchenne muscular dystrophy cell therapy.
—Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 8 May 2026
Noun
The 10-member panel’s first time out, in 2022, was a total botch, as the process was unconstitutionally hijacked by Democrats in the Legislature until it was stopped by the state’s highest court.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 June 2025
Those communication botches, whether on the break or in the half court, often include Towns, who once again vanished as a scorer.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for botch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for botch
Verb
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Lose Aaron Jones, and the offense will hinge on Jordan Mason, who has a mountain to climb in pass protection, and rookie Demond Claiborne, who fumbled five times in 179 carries last season at Wake Forest.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
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In doing so, the TV adaptation fumbled the comics’ superior final act, turning Butcher’s own ignominious death at the hands of Hughie into an ineffective afterthought.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
20 May 2026
Noun
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Arches and natural bridges sweep like buttresses from jumbles of rock, giving this landscape a mystical, cathedral-like quality.—
Madison Chapman,
Outside,
25 Mar. 2026
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Macaroons are chewy jumbles of coconut bound together with egg whites and sweetened condensed milk.—
Lynda Balslev,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Barring an all-time collapse — no team in NBA playoff history has ever blown a 3-0 series lead — the Knicks are headed to the NBA Finals.—
Kristian Winfield,
Sun Sentinel,
25 May 2026
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Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.—
Southern California Weather Report,
Daily News,
25 May 2026
Noun
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Its multidirectional lugs keep you stable and grounded across a variety of surfaces, including city streets, cobblestone, and slippery hardwood floors.—
Jasmine Gomez,
Travel + Leisure,
23 May 2026
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There is no single right answer to the question of how many potatoes grow from one potato; the yield depends on a range of factors, such as the potato variety, the time of planting, the growing conditions, and more.—
Nadia Hassani,
The Spruce,
23 May 2026
Verb
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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
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Authorities bungle the case but still arrest a maintenance worker for the killings.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But among the regular assortment of items that would burst the seams of your bank account or your apartment’s square footage, this year’s design week featured all sorts of small, excellent objects, and many of them were even affordable.—
Anthony Paletta,
Curbed,
23 May 2026
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That philosophy extends into the product assortment itself.—
Tanya Benedicto Klich,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
Verb
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But at the same time, film has always been a labor of love, and cutting too many corners could ruin the art form entirely.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
22 May 2026
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According to the researchers, even small variations can weaken the final structure or ruin an entire print.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
22 May 2026
Noun
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Under a corn muffin cover laden with jalapeño slices, a cheesy beef and veggies medley is hidden within a cast-iron skillet.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
22 May 2026
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So why not really close the circle with an adrenalized medley of both to accompany Colbert’s departure?—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Botch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/botch. Accessed 26 May. 2026.
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