as in fumbled
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
bungled the job the first time she tried to do it
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Recent Examples of bungled
The Chiefs bungled it in more ways than one, more than that fourth-down call, even if the most glaring is the decision to settle for three.
—
Sam McDowell 4, Kansas City Star, 4 Nov. 2025
One day, calling kids up to get pizza for a class lunch, the teacher repeatedly and purposely bungled her name.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
But Denver bungled five — five — chances to extend their lead to two scores in the second half after taking resounding control of the game in the second half.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bungled
Sam McDowell 4, Kansas City Star, 4 Nov. 2025
One day, calling kids up to get pizza for a class lunch, the teacher repeatedly and purposely bungled her name.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
But Denver bungled five — five — chances to extend their lead to two scores in the second half after taking resounding control of the game in the second half.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bungled
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bungled
Verb
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Ball security The Hurricanes have fumbled the ball four times in the past two games and lost two of them — one apiece by Malachi Toney (first round against Texas A&M) and Fletcher (quarterfinal against Ohio State).—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
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Kennedy fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his phone, the source of the noise.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, the show has hosted plenty of controversial musical performances, such as NBC removing upside-down American flags from Rage Against the Machine’s amps in 1996 to Ashlee Simpson’s botched vocal performance in 2004.—
William Earl,
Variety,
19 Oct. 2025
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Made all the worse, that final play by Miami was botched by a mistake that led to the pickoff.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Buffalo Bills were left stunned in Miami on Sunday afternoon as the Dolphins blew them out 30-13 in a crucial AFC East rivalry game.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
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The Patriots were 8-2, headed for 14-2 and a comeback victory over Atlanta in Super Bowl LI in Houston, where Atlanta blew a 28-3 lead with Shanahan as offensive coordinator and New England won 34-28 in overtime.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bungled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bungled. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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