as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
bungled the job the first time she tried to do it
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bungle
Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
Gaga hasn’t released a pop album since 2020’s Chromatica, which saw its release strategy get bungled by the pandemic.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2024
Two brothers who were convicted in the 1991 rape and murder of a tourist in Hawaii filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday claiming that the police had framed them and then bungled an investigation that could have brought the true killer to justice.
—Simon J. Levien, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
Michel has recently pursued his appeal process in part by arguing the incompetence of his trial attorney, who garnered headlines for bungling closing arguments through misuse of an artificial intelligence program.
—Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bungle
Verb
Yet cops and doctors still bungled the follow-up and compounded the survivor’s distress.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
Gaga hasn’t released a pop album since 2020’s Chromatica, which saw its release strategy get bungled by the pandemic.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2024
Two brothers who were convicted in the 1991 rape and murder of a tourist in Hawaii filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday claiming that the police had framed them and then bungled an investigation that could have brought the true killer to justice.
—Simon J. Levien, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
Michel has recently pursued his appeal process in part by arguing the incompetence of his trial attorney, who garnered headlines for bungling closing arguments through misuse of an artificial intelligence program.
—Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bungle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bungle
Verb
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These are both great, morally complex characters with compelling stories and the trailer certainly looks terrific: However much Disney has fumbled the Star Wars IP over the last decade, the animated stuff has mostly been quite good.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
2 Apr. 2025
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The characters in Megan Howell’s short stories, which glide into scenes of magical realism, are lonely people facing the harsh realities of an often violent world and fumbling toward something more hopeful.—
Emma Alpern,
Vulture,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Braden Mann’s botch of the opening kickoff, Luke McCaffrey’s 47-yard return and Jeremiah Trotter Jr.’s unnecessary roughness penalty embodied the sloppy play that’s recently been awarding opponents advantageous field position.—
The Athletic NFL Staff,
The Athletic,
26 Dec. 2024
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Lastly, there was the botch job of trading away Jake Guentzel at the deadline last season.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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What used to build brands now risks blowing them up.—
Remy Blumenfeld,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Apr. 2025
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Miles Caton blew me away and Michael B. jordan is incredible.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Washington Commanders fans have not forgotten about Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker's spelling bobble last week.—
Joel Thayer,
Newsweek,
26 Jan. 2025
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Its circular design fits the decor perfectly while leaving room to prevent damage to any bobbles and accessories.—
Shea Simmons,
Better Homes & Gardens,
3 Jan. 2025
Verb
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An attorney representing former Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker is asking a county judge to give the ex-official probation — not jail time — arguing that his conviction late last year has already damaged his reputation and ruined his career, according to a new court filing.—
Grace Hase,
Mercury News,
4 Apr. 2025
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Simone Jasper,
Miami Herald,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In a February interview with Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs, said that the upcoming launch for Amazon, dubbed Kuiper 1 by ULA and Kuiper Atlas 1 (KA-01) by Amazon, was the first of many planned for the year.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
4 Apr. 2025
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Both Bloomberg and The Information reported last month that a number of these AI models, which Microsoft has dubbed MAI, produced results that proved competitive with rival products from OpenAI and Anthropic on accepted benchmarks.—
Ece Yildirim,
Quartz,
4 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bungle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bungle. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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