Synonyms of mangling

mangling

verb

present participle of mangle

as in fumbling

to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way

you've mangled this so badly that we'll have to do it over

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fumbling
• blowing
• dubbing
• butchering
• murdering
• ruining
• botching
• destroying
• bungling
• booting
• spoiling
• fluffing
• marring
• damaging
• muffing
• boggling
• bumbling
• flubbing
• bobbling
• wrecking
• screwing up
• mutilating
• injuring
• fouling up
• goofing (up)
• impairing
• muddling
• blundering
• messing (up)
• mucking up
• hurting
• foozling
• buggering (up)
• harming
• bollixing (up)
• blighting
• lousing up
• gumming (up)
• vitiating
• mishandling
• blemishing
• mismanaging
• flawing
• piffling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• improving
• helping
• reforming
• refining
• enhancing
• rectifying
• remedying
• ameliorating
• bettering
• repairing
• fixing
• patching
• doctoring
• revamping
• meliorating
• renovating
• reconditioning

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of mangling

The heavy rain washed out part of a main highway between Flagstaff and Sedona, mangling guard rails and littering the road with boulders and trees. — Christopher Weber, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026

The bit caught a pipe strap and wrenched him off a ladder, tearing off his thumb and mangling his hand. — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 8 Oct. 2026

The man in black is wracked and choking, mangling the words, eyes dripping. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

Complex documents with tables, charts and mixed content need each content type scored separately, since a model can nail text while mangling a table. — Sriram Bhargav Madhav, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Blade grinders function more like blenders, frantically whirring in circles, mangling the beans, and tossing them all over the grinding chamber. — Noah Kaufman, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 May 2026

Where was Michael Hill, the commissioner’s office executive serving as Team USA’s general manager, while his manager was mangling the stakes of the situation? — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026

Bruce, my sincere apology for 40 years of mangling your songs in the car. — Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 11 Dec. 2025

When Jets safety Malachi Moore went to tackle Hill, the wideout’s leg got caught underneath him, mangling the appendage in the process. — Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025