as in jumbles
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
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as in fumbles
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of botches
Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 May 2026
Continue reading … FACT CHECK – Washington Post botches Israel-Gaza history leading to major correction.
—FOXNews.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
During last week's WWE SmackDown, a series of mistakes and botches drew harsh criticism from fans.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Verb
But there’s nothing shocking or subversive about this movie, which plays like proficient, forgettable straight-to-streaming fare for the first ninety minutes and then botches its big, bloody finale.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 May 2026
Continue reading … FACT CHECK – Washington Post botches Israel-Gaza history leading to major correction.
—FOXNews.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for botches
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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Tensions between the galley and the interior continue to escalate over lunch service, when a radio mishap fumbles the order in which the food should go out.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
26 May 2026
-
The movie fumbles the chance to do something arresting with this seminal period in art.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
12 May 2026
Noun
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Smaller varieties like cherry and grape tomato plants often produce hundreds of tiny fruits in a season, whereas slicers and beefsteak tomatoes might produce only 10 to 20 large fruits.—
Cori Sears,
The Spruce,
11 June 2026
-
Maybe five great varieties, clearly positioned.—
Michelle Williams,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Verb
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As with other members of the poplar family such as quaking aspen, the part of the tree that attaches the leaf to the branch is several inches long, causing leaves to flap rapidly from side to side when the wind blows.—
Sheryl DeVore,
Chicago Tribune,
10 June 2026
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This doesn’t work for Alice, however, who goes from disbelief to sabotage to an act of betrayal whose wreckage spills out over the series and blows back on her.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
Noun
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According to Brousseau, retailers are increasingly looking to pair contemporary fine jewelry with vintage and estate offerings in order to create more differentiated assortments.—
Thomas Waller,
Footwear News,
27 May 2026
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The company curates snack and pantry assortments for properties including the Fifth Avenue Hotel and the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, as well as corporate clients like OpenAI's New York office.—
Esha Chhabra,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2026
Verb
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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
Noun
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For the elder millennials, the bittersweet spot was the medleys of older Kanye cuts released from 2004 to 2016 (think The College Dropout to The Life of Pablo).—
Adelle Platon,
VIBE.com,
2 Apr. 2026
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This 27-track collection features updated mixes of iconic live performances alongside new remixes and medleys of classic Elvis recordings.—
Bob Mehr,
Memphis Commercial Appeal,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Quotidian sounds such as traffic, bleeping devices, or pop music overheard in crowded spaces make up much of the source material for her expansive sound collages.—
Levi Dayan,
Pitchfork,
9 June 2026
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Since the early 1960s, her drawings, watercolors, acrylics, and collages have run like scenic byways along the whooshing turnpike of contemporary art.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Botches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/botches. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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