as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
played the entire piano piece without a single fumble
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to blow
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
her assistant fumbled the party plans by getting the time wrong on the invitations
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to grope
to search for something blindly or uncertainly
the librarian fumbled for the light switch as she entered the dark room
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to stumble
to make a mistake
just when it looked like he was going to get away with the ruse, he fumbled
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fumble
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 19 Mar. 2025
There’s a lot to love with Tuten and his ceiling is super high, but the floor is extremely scary because of his fumbles.
—Steve Bradshaw, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
Staff Author, EW.com, 22 Mar. 2025
Amid the hesitation, Mitchell fumbled the ball out of bounds.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fumble
Noun
Too often last season, there were mistakes with play calls (especially in short yardage), a coaching inability to find solutions to revive the deep passing game, drops and fumbles (Hill, Waddle, Raheem Mostert all to blame), untimely penalties (by Julian Hill and others).
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 19 Mar. 2025
There’s a lot to love with Tuten and his ceiling is super high, but the floor is extremely scary because of his fumbles.
—Steve Bradshaw, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
Verb
The film itself lacks much of the original’s charms (here, the dogs don’t speak), and John Hughes’ so-so script borrows heavily from his earlier film Home Alone, right down to the two fumbling bandits (Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams, playing Cruella’s henchmen).
—Staff Author, EW.com, 22 Mar. 2025
Amid the hesitation, Mitchell fumbled the ball out of bounds.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fumble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fumble
Noun
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Before formally apologizing to her, Phillips tells Danny about how the stringent demands of Dr. Broussard, who visited Maguire in Episode 4, led him to nick a vessel during an outpatient procedure on a 20-year-old man named Julio, and Phillips’ parents then covered up his fatal mistake.—
Max Gao,
Variety,
4 Apr. 2025
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Nuggets Podcast: Russell Westbrook’s Minnesota mistake, the Western pecking order and a confidence game Jalen Pickett got advice from Chris Paul once.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 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
Verb
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Depardieu is accused of groping one of the women on the film set in front of three witnesses.—
USA TODAY,
USA TODAY,
24 Mar. 2025
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According to prosecutors, Depardieu allegedly held the 54-year-old woman with his legs, groping her waist and breasts as witnesses looked on, the AP reports.—
KC Baker,
People.com,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Discovery: On a hike with her family, a 3-year-old stumbled across a 3,800-year-old Egyptian amulet.—
Justin Porter,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2025
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Listen to this article The morning after his fifth suicide attempt, Rick Fisher stumbled to a church and pounded on the doors.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
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After coalescing with ultranationalists to establish the nation's furthest right government in late 2022, the former special forces commando who had already become Israel's longest serving premier largely deflected criticism over the intelligence blunder of October 7, 2023.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2025
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Yet, the Trump White House and leading Republicans in Congress have tried mightily to put a positive spin on the colossal blunder, even as Democrats pounced on it.—
Clarence Page,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Ophiuchus got booted out despite the sun spending a long time within it from Nov. 29–Dec. 17 (commonly thought of as Sagittarius despite the sun being in that constellation from Dec. 17–Jan. 20.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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The Cubs added a run in the inning when third baseman Manny Machado booted Swanson’s grounder.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The seasonal beach community off South Carolina is usually a place to work on your swing, but here looked more like Davos for the owners box crowd.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2025
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For starters, the clear formula comes in a cute little bottle that looks more like a serum than tanning drops.—
Alanna Martine Kilkeary,
Glamour,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Jennifer Coolidge, who originated the role of heiress Tanya McQuoid in Season 1, returned for Season 2, only to die by tripping and hitting her head on a boat and drowning.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
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Standout episodes see the besties trip out with Anderson .Paak at Afropunk and shine a light on trans joy with Peppermint.—
EW Staff Published,
EW.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fumble. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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