as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
played the entire piano piece without a single fumble
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to blow
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
her assistant fumbled the party plans by getting the time wrong on the invitations
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to grope
to search for something blindly or uncertainly
the librarian fumbled for the light switch as she entered the dark room
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to stumble
to make a mistake
just when it looked like he was going to get away with the ruse, he fumbled
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of fumble
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 20 May 2026
Mired by the Texans’ smothering defense, Rodgers completed 17-of-33 passes for 146 yards, with no touchdowns, one interception and two fumbles.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 18 May 2026
Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 26 May 2026
Like, for example, calling a risky trick play in South Bend that resulted in wide receiver Makai Lemon fumbling on first-and-10 from the Notre Dame 37-yard line down three points in the fourth quarter.
—Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for fumble
Noun
Jedi-in-training Rey (Daisy Ridley), reluctant hero Finn (John Boyega) and X-wing warrior Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) lead the ragtag Resistance against a returning Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) in a film that's full of logic fumbles and muddies the focus of the third and final trilogy.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 20 May 2026
Mired by the Texans’ smothering defense, Rodgers completed 17-of-33 passes for 146 yards, with no touchdowns, one interception and two fumbles.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 18 May 2026
Verb
Tensions between the galley and the interior continue to escalate over lunch service, when a radio mishap fumbles the order in which the food should go out.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 26 May 2026
Like, for example, calling a risky trick play in South Bend that resulted in wide receiver Makai Lemon fumbling on first-and-10 from the Notre Dame 37-yard line down three points in the fourth quarter.
—Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for fumble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fumble
Noun
-
There are always mistakes on the petitions.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
6 June 2026
-
Wembanyama rectified that mistake on the next play.—
Mark Medina,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
In the Bay Area, fire and police departments in San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco have blown past their overtime budgets by tens of millions of dollars in recent years.—
Ethan Varian,
Mercury News,
9 June 2026
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Each basket drew a huge applause from the championship-hungry Garden crowd, including his slam in the final minutes of the first half after blowing by unanimous Defensive Player of the Year Victory Wembanyama.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
The challenge required the men to handcuff themselves to the bed while the women, in blindfolds, groped around in the dark, attempting to find their couple and handcuff themselves to him.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
9 June 2026
-
The abuse included groping and fondling of the students' genitals and other acts under the guise of a medical examination.—
Jasper Ward,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
Verb
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Chip stocks, however, stumbled; bitcoin is hovering at its weakest since the war began, private credit is throwing off sparks again — and a flesh-eating parasite has turned up in Texas.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
5 June 2026
-
The goal of the game is to land the stunt successfully without stumbling.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Read on to see the beauty blunders, silly styling and overall head-to-toe outfits that these stars regret.—
Tanisha Bhat,
PEOPLE,
9 June 2026
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The base-running blunder by Alcántara, a prospect acquired in the Anthony Rizzo trade with the New York Yankees at the 2021 trade deadline, is just one example of how this team is pressing.—
Patrick Mooney,
New York Times,
8 June 2026
Verb
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He was also booted from his 30-room Windsor mansion as that scandal unraveled.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
6 June 2026
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For example, OpenAI lets users send its default model 10 messages every five hours before booting them to a weaker version.—
Stephan Bisaha,
NPR,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
Chestnuts bloom in these graceful, long pine-tree shapes, which look like a symbol of something.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
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The unlikely tourist attraction was inspired 73 years ago, when a farmer looked at the twine littering the floor of his barn.—
Staff,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
Verb
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Other common soccer penalties include tripping, kicking, holding or pulling jerseys, pushing or charging players, and dangerous plays like high kicks or kicking near another player's head.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
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Britain’s Katie Boulter and Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez tripped over Lacoste signs during their early round matches.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
7 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fumble. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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