bumbling
adjective
bum·bling
ˈbəm-b(ə-)liŋ 
: awkwardly blundering or faltering
a bumbling speaker
: prone to or marked by foolish mistakes
a bumbling attempt to fix the problem
… many Americans see the F.D.A. as bumbling and inefficient …—
Herbert Burkholz
Herbert Burkholz
bumblingly
adverb
… none of them truly wants him in her home while he tries, bumblingly, to get his act together …
—Laura Collins-Hughes
Laura Collins-Hughes
Examples of bumbling in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Yankees are trying to win a World Series, and yet the defense is akin to a bumbling circus on most nights.
—Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2025
Those old enough to remember Don Adams’ TV sitcom–character Maxwell Smart will recall that the bumbling spy drove a Sunbeam Tiger, a rare car when new in 1965 and one that’s even rarer now.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 22 Aug. 2025
The film treats El Hadji’s erectile dysfunction, and his bumbling quest to resolve it, as a metaphor for post-independence leaders with shallow commitments to liberatory politics.
—Lovia Gyarkye, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2025
Those turnovers influenced Auburn bumbling to a 5-7 finish, its fourth straight losing season – the last two of which occurred under Freeze’s watch.
—Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bumbling
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Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2025
Those old enough to remember Don Adams’ TV sitcom–character Maxwell Smart will recall that the bumbling spy drove a Sunbeam Tiger, a rare car when new in 1965 and one that’s even rarer now.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 22 Aug. 2025
The film treats El Hadji’s erectile dysfunction, and his bumbling quest to resolve it, as a metaphor for post-independence leaders with shallow commitments to liberatory politics.
—Lovia Gyarkye, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2025
Those turnovers influenced Auburn bumbling to a 5-7 finish, its fourth straight losing season – the last two of which occurred under Freeze’s watch.
—Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bumbling
Cite this Entry
“Bumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bumbling. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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