as in uncomfortable
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1
as in blowing
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in groping
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 stumbling
to make a mistake
just when it looked like he was going to get away with the ruse, he fumbled
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fumbling
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 May 2026
No more fussing, fumbling, or making a mess of my counter.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 29 Apr. 2026
Gone is the fumbling little girl of before, replaced by a woman full of anger and ready to take her own life to prove her love.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 1 Apr. 2026
The characters are precisely strange, interestingly fumbling, and share with Days and Nights’s protagonists an anxious impatience and confusion.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
That bond helped buoy Stevenson through hard days, which peaked with the return of a fumbling problem that dogged him last year.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
Signs of hypothermia in adults include shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech and drowsiness.
—Jarrod Wardwell, Houston Chronicle, 26 Jan. 2026
One-word answers litter the path toward your desperate, fumbling attempt to get away.
—Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 1 Oct. 2025
No stars are required to dress up and parade for the cameras or to answer fumbling questions from the press; no juries haggle over prizes; and, above all, there is no obligation to observe the highly suspect principle that the latest thing is bound to be the best.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 2 June 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
Gone will be the life complications of fumbling to attach a baggage tag to each of your suitcases at check-in.
—Miami Herald, 19 May 2026
That’s incredibly useful when navigating menus, asking for directions, or communicating abroad without fumbling through translation apps.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 19 May 2026
Santillan appears to be fumbling away his opportunity, allowing nine runs (eight earned) over his last five appearances.
—Mike Barner, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
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, 8 May 2026
The result leaves nearly every performer fumbling for traction in Serkis and Stoller’s muddy-yet-gutless cinematic sty.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 30 Apr. 2026
There was an emotional honesty that embraced the idea that growth isn’t always linear (see Andie from The Devil Wears Prada, fumbling a relationship with a good guy because her career came first).
—Literary Hub, 24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
The fact that his fumbling journey toward fatherhood is not just tolerable but genuinely touching is a testament to the disarming earnestness with which Firstman approaches the clichéd set-up.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 May 2026
No more fussing, fumbling, or making a mess of my counter.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 29 Apr. 2026
Gone is the fumbling little girl of before, replaced by a woman full of anger and ready to take her own life to prove her love.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 1 Apr. 2026
The characters are precisely strange, interestingly fumbling, and share with Days and Nights’s protagonists an anxious impatience and confusion.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
That bond helped buoy Stevenson through hard days, which peaked with the return of a fumbling problem that dogged him last year.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
Signs of hypothermia in adults include shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech and drowsiness.
—Jarrod Wardwell, Houston Chronicle, 26 Jan. 2026
One-word answers litter the path toward your desperate, fumbling attempt to get away.
—Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 1 Oct. 2025
No stars are required to dress up and parade for the cameras or to answer fumbling questions from the press; no juries haggle over prizes; and, above all, there is no obligation to observe the highly suspect principle that the latest thing is bound to be the best.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
But then again, neither is the Bears fumbling and bumbling.
—Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 2 June 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
Gone will be the life complications of fumbling to attach a baggage tag to each of your suitcases at check-in.
—Miami Herald, 19 May 2026
That’s incredibly useful when navigating menus, asking for directions, or communicating abroad without fumbling through translation apps.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 19 May 2026
Santillan appears to be fumbling away his opportunity, allowing nine runs (eight earned) over his last five appearances.
—Mike Barner, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
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, 8 May 2026
The result leaves nearly every performer fumbling for traction in Serkis and Stoller’s muddy-yet-gutless cinematic sty.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 30 Apr. 2026
There was an emotional honesty that embraced the idea that growth isn’t always linear (see Andie from The Devil Wears Prada, fumbling a relationship with a good guy because her career came first).
—Literary Hub, 24 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fumbling
Adjective
-
One 2012 poll found that 23% of White evangelical voters were uncomfortable with Romney’s religion.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
-
If the air conditioner is set too high, then the home may be just as uncomfortable as the air outdoors.—
Timothy Dale,
The Spruce,
8 June 2026
Verb
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Whenever your outfit feels a little plain, these goodies will inject some welcome personality—all without blowing a hole in your budget.—
Jake Henry Smith,
Glamour,
8 June 2026
-
Another dramatic scene from West Virginia showed wind blowing a tent across a lawn, and dragging several people along with it, during a college basketball game between West Virginia University and Cal Poly.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
Verb
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The abuse included groping and fondling of the students’ genitals and other acts under the guise of a medical examination.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
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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
-
For them, a smarter alert can mean the difference between landing ready for a boardroom and stumbling in after an overnight airport stay.—
Gretchen Wittenmyer-Stone,
Miami Herald,
9 June 2026
-
Below him, drunken partiers are stumbling back from a day in the unrelenting sun at the MGM Grand’s pool, many of them carrying inflatable tubes, and nearly all in various stages of undress.—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
All three of them were shot in the head and beaten with a wooden baseball bat.—
Alex Brizee,
Idaho Statesman,
29 May 2026
-
In parts of Central and Eastern Europe, people lie on wooden structures built directly above active hives to absorb the sound and vibration, a practice called apitherapy.—
Allison Palmer,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2026
Verb
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San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who polled at 5% in the CBS survey, accused Becerra of bungling the federal government’s response to COVID-19, mpox and the influx in child migrants under former President Joe Biden.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
And Kash Patel's FBI seems to be bungling the investigation at every step.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Mike and Samantha Tiburtini didn’t start looking until about a month after their son Ellis was born in May 2022.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
11 June 2026
-
Timothy Hawkins said the command was aware of reports and looking into the situation.—
Gianluca Mezzofiore,
CNN Money,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Iliman Ndiaye should have conceded a penalty at Molineux for tripping Hugo Bueno while Garner deserved to be sent off at Villa Park.—
Graham Scott,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
Beauchamp tripping back in time, lost and separated in the highlands of 18th century Scotland.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fumbling. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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