as in clumsy
showing or marked by a lack of skill and tact (as in dealing with a situation)
I refuse to let that bungling incompetent insult me again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in fumbling
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
bungled the job the first time she tried to do it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of bungling
Natalia Winkelman,
Variety,
27 May 2026
Bernthal, who plays Sonny, has his own wayward machismo and hapless sensitivity, the very qualities that made Al Pacino unforgettable in the role of the bungling bandit with a Catholic conscience.
—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
His friendship with Epstein was never a secret — though his bungling aides’ accidental reopening of it is one of history’s greatest political errors.
—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
29 Apr. 2026
And Kash Patel's FBI seems to be bungling the investigation at every step.
—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
13 Mar. 2026
Cricket was shot for yapping uncontrollably, bungling the mission, and killing innocent bystanders.
—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2026
Walsh was joined by Sean Davis, Saagar Enjeti, and other conservative commentators who spent the day accusing the administration of bungling its messaging on the conflict.
—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Mar. 2026
Hollywood stars would do well to worry less about bungling the teleprompter and more about being true to their heart.
—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Feb. 2026
The pair wasn’t done with its bungling yet.
—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
5 Feb. 2026
At that point, the day had been characterized by sloppiness and frustration, with Bears pass catchers failing to secure at least a half-dozen catchable throws from their quarterback and, on three occasions, bungling fourth-down opportunities.
—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
When Souleymane rehearses his account, in an early scene, Barry admonishes him for blandly reciting (and often bungling) the false facts he’s been given.
—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
The broadest of comedies, the film’s often puerile humor is driven by an endless stream of male bungling, blundering and whining, only to be kicked up a notch by pratfalls of nearly every variety, from getting bucked off a galloping horse to tripping into a pile of trash.
—
Natalia Winkelman,
Variety,
27 May 2026
Bernthal, who plays Sonny, has his own wayward machismo and hapless sensitivity, the very qualities that made Al Pacino unforgettable in the role of the bungling bandit with a Catholic conscience.
—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
His friendship with Epstein was never a secret — though his bungling aides’ accidental reopening of it is one of history’s greatest political errors.
—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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
And Kash Patel's FBI seems to be bungling the investigation at every step.
—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
13 Mar. 2026
Cricket was shot for yapping uncontrollably, bungling the mission, and killing innocent bystanders.
—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2026
Walsh was joined by Sean Davis, Saagar Enjeti, and other conservative commentators who spent the day accusing the administration of bungling its messaging on the conflict.
—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Mar. 2026
Hollywood stars would do well to worry less about bungling the teleprompter and more about being true to their heart.
—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Feb. 2026
The pair wasn’t done with its bungling yet.
—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
5 Feb. 2026
At that point, the day had been characterized by sloppiness and frustration, with Bears pass catchers failing to secure at least a half-dozen catchable throws from their quarterback and, on three occasions, bungling fourth-down opportunities.
—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
When Souleymane rehearses his account, in an early scene, Barry admonishes him for blandly reciting (and often bungling) the false facts he’s been given.
—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bungling
Adjective
-
This has, in many cases, led to some clumsy looking solutions at venues across North America.
-
An early furor over accepting valuable gifts, including designer spectacles and Taylor Swift concert tickets, was followed by a series of policy U-turns, especially clumsy attempts to cut welfare spending that stirred anger in Labour ranks.
Verb
-
My first few hours with the EM11 NL were marked by overshooting links, fumbling through simple selections, and occasionally wondering why anyone would voluntarily use a vertical mouse.
-
Bennett is concerned, for instance, that Hong could win her primary and then be defeated in November by Republican Tom Tiffany, fumbling the governorship of a swing state into the hands of a far-right Freedom Caucus member who dabbled in 2020 election conspiracy theories.
Adjective
-
Your 2nd House of Finances hits an awkward angle as the nurturing Moon quincunxes ambitious Mars in your 9th House of Travel and Learning.
-
But that doesn’t mean there still aren’t some awkward moments.
Verb
-
Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.
-
Royce Lewis slipped an RBI single up the middle in the 10th inning and the Minnesota Twins beat the Colorado Rockies 9-8 on Friday night after blowing a seven-run lead.
Adjective
-
Winstone will play Alan ‘Razor’ Sharp, a former SAS operative haunted by a botched mission in the ‘90s that left his reputation in tatters and his best friend dead.
-
Their target, Yousaf (Rahul Khanna), strangles the young trainee Annelise (Gillian Alexy) to death—making for a second botched operation in one episode.
Adjective
-
Dunk, Welly and Shirm are on the interplanetary run from a zealous-yet-inept officer of the law named Zandro.
-
Forky has shades of Buster Bluth, the socially inept youngest sibling in Arrested Development, and Gary Walsh, the always available aide in VEEP, who brings co-dependence to dizzying new heights.
Adjective
-
Clinical psychologists concluded after exams in the six years since his arrest that McGuire was incompetent to stand trial.
-
She was found incompetent to stand trial and was committed to the Missouri Department of Mental Health, according to a statement provided by Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Jazzlyn Johnson.
Adjective
-
The subtext beneath that statement is that Syd recognizes why Tina might be loath to take orders from a boss who is younger and, relative to Carmy, inexperienced in the business.
-
Army investigations have repeatedly pointed to the same factors contributing to fatal training incidents including sleep deprivation, inadequate training and inexperienced leaders supervising high-risk exercises.
Cite this Entry
“Bungling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bungling. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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