as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
a newsreader who memorably dropped a clanger when she referred to Robert Burns as an English poet
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Recent Examples of clanger
In its two most recent games, its goalkeeper, André Onana, has made calamitous clangers, leading to easy goals for the opposition.
—
Alex Tabet, NBC News, 15 Dec. 2024
The veined wing of the clanger cicada kills bacteria solely through its physical structure — one of the first natural surfaces found to do so.
—Trevor Quirk, Scientific American, 5 Mar. 2013
But only new centre back David Luiz has provided clangers in defence in more than one game, losing Ashley Barnes with some schoolboy marking against Burnley before that shirt pull on Mohamed Salah at Anfield.
—SI.com, 7 Sep. 2019
Another game against Chelsea and another clanger for Lloris - this time during the Lilywhites tenure at Wembley.
—SI.com, 30 Sep. 2019
This doesn't stop players from slipping every now and again, or dropping a social clanger or two.
—SI.com, 29 Sep. 2019
This is hardly surprising given the Spaniard's mixed start to life at Anfield, making a clanger while trying to play out from the back which handed Danny Ings a goal in the narrow victory over Southampton.
—SI.com, 3 Sep. 2019
For years the clanger has dangled in the middle, banging against the bell’s iron walls for two states to hear, back and forth from Indiana to Ohio to Indiana to Ohio …
WHERE’S GREGG?
—Gregg Doyel, Indianapolis Star, 3 July 2019
Despite showing solidarity on the pitch, matters were complicated when Bale's agent dropped an inadvertent clanger on local radio, stating the pair didn't get along.
—SI.com, 1 Apr. 2018
Alex Tabet, NBC News, 15 Dec. 2024
The veined wing of the clanger cicada kills bacteria solely through its physical structure — one of the first natural surfaces found to do so.
—Trevor Quirk, Scientific American, 5 Mar. 2013
But only new centre back David Luiz has provided clangers in defence in more than one game, losing Ashley Barnes with some schoolboy marking against Burnley before that shirt pull on Mohamed Salah at Anfield.
—SI.com, 7 Sep. 2019
Another game against Chelsea and another clanger for Lloris - this time during the Lilywhites tenure at Wembley.
—SI.com, 30 Sep. 2019
This doesn't stop players from slipping every now and again, or dropping a social clanger or two.
—SI.com, 29 Sep. 2019
This is hardly surprising given the Spaniard's mixed start to life at Anfield, making a clanger while trying to play out from the back which handed Danny Ings a goal in the narrow victory over Southampton.
—SI.com, 3 Sep. 2019
For years the clanger has dangled in the middle, banging against the bell’s iron walls for two states to hear, back and forth from Indiana to Ohio to Indiana to Ohio …
WHERE’S GREGG?
—Gregg Doyel, Indianapolis Star, 3 July 2019
Despite showing solidarity on the pitch, matters were complicated when Bale's agent dropped an inadvertent clanger on local radio, stating the pair didn't get along.
—SI.com, 1 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clanger
Noun
-
My family has a history of a lot of the same mistakes, especially among the men.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
27 June 2025
-
Jumping onto Andrew Cuomo’s leaky ship was a devastating mistake for the pro-Israel movement.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
27 June 2025
Noun
-
Even with good intentions, these salon blunders are better avoided, according to experts.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
19 June 2025
-
Other big moments in Trump’s presidency include the leak of U.S. military attack plans to Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, what was widely considered to be the first major blunder of his second term.—
Sara Dorn,
Forbes.com,
16 June 2025
Noun
-
That poll surveyed 658 Virginia residents between May 12 and May 19, and has a weighted margin of error of 5.25 percent.—
Khaleda Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 June 2025
-
Many small business workers may not have digital access or face language barriers when missing paperwork or tech errors can result in automatic loss of coverage.—
Rhett Buttle,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clanger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clanger. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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