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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Game to game, characters like the speedy Pete Wheeler or clumsy Angela Delvecchio were true to their traits across each release.—
Jake Lang,
Rolling Stone,
7 Feb. 2025 -
Relentless, hi-def gore is The Monkey’s greatest achievement, but all the blood-spatter in the world couldn’t redeem its clumsy plotting, frat-boy humor, and feigned memento mori.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Comfortable familiarity and an awkward desire to escape co-exist like the two quotes at the start, both true in incongruous harmony.—
David Opie,
IndieWire,
18 Feb. 2025
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Where some toiletry bags end up having an awkward shape that won’t easily fit into your luggage, these are the opposite.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Sonos had a horrible 2024, thanks to a botched app update that culminated in the resignation of its CEO.—
Jibin Joseph,
PCMAG,
5 Feb. 2025
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The project unspools as a botched attempt to tackle one of America’s most infamous unsolved mysteries, whose details were memorably chronicled in David Fincher’s outstanding 2007 thriller, Zodiac.—
Jordan Mintzer,
The Hollywood Reporter,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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With Minnesota leading by just two at the break after blowing a 21-point first-quarter advantage thanks to some inept defense, Edwards cranked up the dial, scoring 20 of his 49 points in the third quarter to guide Minnesota to a 127-108 victory.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
6 Feb. 2025
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The stranger produced an inept screenplay, which was accepted as proof that only a fool would try to make a film from my novel.—
David Rabe,
The New Yorker,
2 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Andrew Jay Cohen’s incompetent direction — the movie doesn’t even build up to jokes, let alone follow them through — leads to an airless, desperate comedy in which every cast member is stranded.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
4 Feb. 2025
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They were meant to cause political harm and yet increased the concern of the flying public that commercial aviation has somehow magically become unsafe, manned by incompetent air traffic controllers.—
Michael B. Teiger,
Hartford Courant,
31 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Bungling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bungling. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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