as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
when she was told her information was wrong, she apologized for the flub and immediately corrected it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
added too much flour and flubbed the gravy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stumble
to make a mistake
at some point in your training you're going to flub, so don't let it rattle you
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flub
Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2026
Some observers pointed out flubs like Phillip’s are common during live television broadcasts or breaking news situations.
—Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 11 Mar. 2026
Max Bultman, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2026
Then, just to flub any chance for enjoying some dumb fun with a skilled cast hamming it up, the sloppy story grinds the all-too-predictable, all-too-lame whodunit to a halt, as well.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for flub
Noun
Others couldn’t resist tying the flub to the Mets’ recent fortunes.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2026
Some observers pointed out flubs like Phillip’s are common during live television broadcasts or breaking news situations.
—Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 11 Mar. 2026
Verb
With Detroit leading 2-1 in the third, Justin Faulk flubbed a breakout pass up the wall to David Perron, who couldn’t get it out, allowing Boston to extend an offensive zone shift and quickly set up Elias Lindholm on the weak side.
—Max Bultman, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2026
Then, just to flub any chance for enjoying some dumb fun with a skilled cast hamming it up, the sloppy story grinds the all-too-predictable, all-too-lame whodunit to a halt, as well.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for flub
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flub
Noun
-
Kreider made no mistake hammering the puck past Hart from the low slot.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
9 May 2026
-
That will also be a huge difference from the Orbán regime, when there was no responsibility or consequences of any crime, any political mistake.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
Verb
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But Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace hit three-pointers while Smart was fumbling the ball and James and Hachimura were missing shots, while an Oklahoma City 8-0 run eventually gave them another 13-point lead that was never again challenged.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
-
As print and television media fumbled their way online, Gawker used the internet to pull back the curtain on celebrity, mainstream media, politics and creeping commercialism.—
Frank DiGiacomo,
HollywoodReporter,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
The mood in Venice is still borderline ecstatic, full of gossip, parties, and people chatting about art in their respective cities, trading business cards, discovering new talent, eating, drinking, and stumbling around, running into old friends.—
Nate Freeman,
Vanity Fair,
8 May 2026
-
South Africa has stumbled into a classic policy trap.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
For the game, for the third straight game, the Lakers made bunches of mistakes that became bunches of baskets, this time 17 blunders that became 30 Oklahoma City points.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
-
In a recent tactical blunder, the first lady’s farcical rollout of a teacher robot made unusually clear what this administration really thinks of children, teachers and schools.—
Randi Weingarten,
Fortune,
6 May 2026
Verb
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But second-year point guard Carla Leite, who had hurt her ankle earlier in the evening, blew by Jones in isolation to tie the score 96-96 with 27 seconds to play.—
Sabreena Merchant,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
-
Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Here, the feel is of a car-free village where guests and day-tripping locals can mingle over pétanque games, art galleries, and craft workshops, casual and fine dining cuisine, and rejuvenating sessions in the spa’s Iyashi Dôme.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 May 2026
-
Slipping in a grocery store or tripping in a hotel lobby is bad enough on its own.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
Mayer advanced to third on a subsequent error by Walls trying to flip the ball to second base, which scored Yoshida, and came home himself on Caleb Durbin’s RBI single, tying the game at 3-3.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
8 May 2026
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He was found dead by suicide in his jail cell that August — the result of what federal investigators concluded in 2023 was a cascade of misconduct, negligence and errors by staff at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.—
Tom Winter,
NBC news,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Kwan singled up the middle, advanced to second when Angel Martinez was hit by a pitch and scored when Minnesota second baseman Luke Keaschall botched a grounder hit by Ramírez.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 May 2026
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Rollins botched a counter attempt, but Breakker covered it up with a standing moonsault for two.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flub.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flub. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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