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
Pope dropped clangers earlier in the season and weak concessions against Manchester City and Qarabag preceded Everton.
—
Chris Waugh, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
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
Another game against Chelsea and another clanger for Lloris - this time during the Lilywhites tenure at Wembley.
—SI.com, 30 Sep. 2019
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
Chris Waugh, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
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
Another game against Chelsea and another clanger for Lloris - this time during the Lilywhites tenure at Wembley.
—SI.com, 30 Sep. 2019
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clanger
Noun
-
Unfortunately, admitting mistakes doesn’t come easily for many people.—
Hartford Courant,
Hartford Courant,
25 Apr. 2026
-
To avoid this big mistake, figure out in advance exactly how deep the hole should be, and be careful not to dig any deeper.—
Beth Botts,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Tunsil plummeted out of the top ten, falling all the way to the 13th pick, where the Miami Dolphins were the beneficiaries of his blunder.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
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That such a blunder might be shrugged off and even celebrated, rather than shamefully shunted away, struck Schuch as a very American notion.—
Lauren Collins,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Following a throwing error that allowed Trevor Story to reach with two outs, Marcelo Mayer drove an RBI double the opposite way off the Green Monster to give the Red Sox their first lead of the series.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The surplus turned out to be a mirage, based on a $165 billion error in revenue estimates over four years.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clanger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clanger. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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