as in clumsy
showing or marked by a lack of skill and tact (as in dealing with a situation)
I refuse to let that bungling incompetent insult me again
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in fumbling
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
bungled the job the first time she tried to do it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bungling
Adjective
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These transitions, between past and present, are sometimes clumsy but sometimes genuinely sweet, as with an old letter that near-simultaneously is dictated and written, received and read, and finally rediscovered (and only partially understood) in the 21st century.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
27 May 2025 -
Wildlife officials helped remove a black bear found hanging out in the kitchen of a Kentucky home after an impressive, yet clumsy break-in, photos show.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Kansas City Star,
25 May 2025
Adjective
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Eddie's real parentage is revealed, Maeve is outed, Kevin catches up with Rusby, Bella brokers her deal, and Alice attends an awkward Harrigan dinner.—
Matt Cabral,
EW.com,
26 May 2025
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There is also an awkward disconnect: Gmail’s recent encryption upgrade clashes with its AI upgrades.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
Adjective
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That was a reference to the botched Tonight Show transition at NBC where O’Brien, then the popular host of NBC’s Late Night, was promised The Tonight Show to stay at NBC.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
3 Mar. 2025
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Accidental reveal One Russian military blogger inadvertently revealed the extent of the Ukrainian advance during a botched effort to downplay the advance on Monday.—
David Axe,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Popular movements in South Africa, Ukraine, and the Philippines demonstrate a pattern: sustained pressure—cross-class protests, labor strikes, investigative reporting—can chip away at self-enriching, inept regimes.—
Evan Osnos,
New Yorker,
26 May 2025
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When his son Trey (Aubrey Joseph) and godson Kyle (Elijah Wright in a film debut) and son of his best friend and driver Paul (Jeffrey Wright) are mistaken for each other by the inept kidnapper, that criminal demands David pay the $17.5 million ransom anyway or Kyle dies.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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The case stalled for years, in part due to concerns that Saleh was mentally incompetent to stand trial, court records show.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
24 May 2025
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The man accused of stalking Jennifer Aniston and crashing his car through her front gate was ruled incompetent for trial on Thursday but demanded a second opinion.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
22 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Bungling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bungling. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.
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