as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
played the entire piano piece without a single fumble
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025
An elite pass rusher who also had an adept ability at forcing fumbles for Boston College last season, Ezeiruaku surprisingly takes the most pride in his ability to stop the run.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Apr. 2025
Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
Trump has left the world fumbling to adjust to a new landscape.
—Natasha Frost, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fumble
Noun
The 6-foot-5, 283-pound prospect had a breakthrough year in 2024, tallying 43 pressures, 4 1/2 sacks and two forced fumbles.
—Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025
An elite pass rusher who also had an adept ability at forcing fumbles for Boston College last season, Ezeiruaku surprisingly takes the most pride in his ability to stop the run.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Apr. 2025
Verb
Backstage, there was a painfully awkward segment between the Judgment Day and AJ Styles where Styles fumbled just about every line that came out of his mouth.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
Trump has left the world fumbling to adjust to a new landscape.
—Natasha Frost, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fumble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fumble
Noun
-
Now in the context of the very obvious dropping of moral guardrails around international relations, other countries will be less bound by a sense of world order, emboldened by an arms race, and will start to take risks and make mistakes.—
Mike O'Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
-
Lifton remembers telling others in the rare earths industry this would be a mistake.—
Mark Dent,
HubSpot,
9 May 2025
Verb
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In addition, strong winds over desert areas could result in briefly lowered visibilities to well under a mile at times in blowing dust or blowing sand.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
11 May 2025
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Those cops do more than blow whistles and bark signals.—
Paul Solotaroff,
Rolling Stone,
11 May 2025
Verb
-
The assistant had also accused him of groping her buttocks and her breasts during three separate incidents on the set.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 May 2025
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Two women say the 76-year-old actor groped them on the set of the 2022 film Les Volets Verts.—
Rebecca Rosman,
NPR,
12 May 2025
Verb
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Still, many times, most seasoned and skilled leaders stumble from time to time.—
Phil Portman,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
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Meanwhile, the only truly happy artist in Ira’s friend group — played to uproarious perfection by Stanley Tucci — isn’t even much of an artist at all but a shameless name-dropper who seems to stumble into constant success without even trying.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
9 May 2025
Noun
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But the internal investigation promised by department leaders — a probe of what accounted for the delays and blunders — seemed to go nowhere.—
Christopher Goffard,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2025
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The show’s main blunder is that instead of unpacking the various angles of the mob bosses’ corruption, random side stories start popping up.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
15 May 2025
Verb
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Fortnite was booted from iPhones and Apple’s App Store in 2020, after Epic Games updated its software to link out to the company’s website and avoid Apple’s commissions.—
Kif Leswing,
CNBC,
9 May 2025
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Using secure boot to stop malicious software from launching during startup. TPM can detect changes and prevent your system from booting, keeping your device secure from physical attacks.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
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After a memorable Game 4 victory to take a 3-1 series lead, the Knicks looked poised to take care of business in five games, especially with Boston losing Jayson Tatum to an Achilles injury.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
17 May 2025
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These types often overlap, and symptoms can look different for every person.—
Health,
Health,
16 May 2025
Verb
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Pulliam saw the coyote emerge from the nearby woods and tried to distract it by throwing rocks, but tripped in the process.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
People.com,
20 May 2025
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The novelty of seeing string puppet rockers spin and levitate, often tripping and tumbling in stride to the delight of the audience, never gets old.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
17 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fumble. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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