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 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web All that remains is more bumbling, mealy-mouthed corporate decision-making that will only further enrage the left and right alike. Jacob Silverman, The New Republic, 5 May 2021 The platform's newest buddy cop flick puts a unique spin on the formula, partnering a bumbling police officer with a child. Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 24 Mar. 2020 Trump has mocked the Democrats for their bumbling rollout at the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3, when a glitchy vote-counting app snarled everything, including the results, the careers of some local politicos and the party’s reputation. Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2020 Even as Wittes is diminishing the horrors of the Holocaust for political gain with his bumbling analogies, a bunch of high-profile Americans were speaking out about Trump actions. David Harsanyi, National Review, 10 Feb. 2020 The bumbling group from Texas found that to be true as well. Matt Wyatt, ExpressNews.com, 2 Jan. 2020 The Eagles have lost three straight, but thanks to the equally bumbling Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles remain just a game out of first place in the NFC East. oregonlive, 9 Dec. 2019 Beneath the bumbling exterior lies a ruthless, power-seeking machine. The Economist, 18 Dec. 2019 But the season began with a bumbling loss to Wyoming and never really got on track, and the Tigers were forced to beat Arkansas just to become bowl-eligible. Dave Skretta, Arkansas Online, 30 Nov. 2019 See More
Jacob Silverman, The New Republic, 5 May 2021 The platform's newest buddy cop flick puts a unique spin on the formula, partnering a bumbling police officer with a child. Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 24 Mar. 2020 Trump has mocked the Democrats for their bumbling rollout at the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3, when a glitchy vote-counting app snarled everything, including the results, the careers of some local politicos and the party’s reputation. Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2020 Even as Wittes is diminishing the horrors of the Holocaust for political gain with his bumbling analogies, a bunch of high-profile Americans were speaking out about Trump actions. David Harsanyi, National Review, 10 Feb. 2020 The bumbling group from Texas found that to be true as well. Matt Wyatt, ExpressNews.com, 2 Jan. 2020 The Eagles have lost three straight, but thanks to the equally bumbling Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles remain just a game out of first place in the NFC East. oregonlive, 9 Dec. 2019 Beneath the bumbling exterior lies a ruthless, power-seeking machine. The Economist, 18 Dec. 2019 But the season began with a bumbling loss to Wyoming and never really got on track, and the Tigers were forced to beat Arkansas just to become bowl-eligible. Dave Skretta, Arkansas Online, 30 Nov. 2019 See More Word History
First Known Use
1660, in the meaning defined above
bumbling 1 of 2
verb (1)
as in humming
to fly, turn, or move rapidly with a fluttering or vibratory sound a fly bumbling around the room while we were trying to sleep Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- humming
- buzzing
- zipping
- droning
- whispering
- whirring
- hissing
- whizzing
- whistling
- burring
- sighing
- wheezing
- zooming
- cooing
- chirring
- murmuring
- purring
- churring
- fizzing
- thrumming
- curring
- whishing
- whooshing
- sizzling
- rustling
- swishing
bumbling
2 of 2verb (2)
1
as in fumbling
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way accused the White House staff of bumbling the announcement of the replacement for the cabinet post Synonyms & Similar Words
- fumbling
- bungling
- blowing
- dubbing
- murdering
- botching
- mangling
- blundering
- boggling
- ruining
- butchering
- booting
- muffing
- flubbing
- bobbling
- spoiling
- fluffing
- destroying
- damaging
- mucking up
- screwing up
- foozling
- fouling up
- marring
- muddling
- lousing up
- wrecking
- bollixing (up)
- buggering (up)
- piffling
- injuring
- goofing (up)
- impairing
- hurting
- mutilating
- flawing
- blighting
- harming
- messing (up)
- blemishing
- vitiating
- mismanaging
- mishandling
- gumming (up)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- helping
- improving
- enhancing
- rectifying
- reforming
- ameliorating
- remedying
- refining
- meliorating
- fixing
- doctoring
- revamping
- repairing
- patching
- bettering
- renovating
- reconditioning
2
as in stumbling
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually I sort of bumbled through the dance number, hoping that it would soon end Synonyms & Similar Words
- stumbling
- blundering
- struggling
- floundering
- shuffling
- fumbling
- trudging
- limping
- plodding
- lumbering
- lurching
- shambling
- jogging
- faltering
- swaying
- staggering
- reeling
- tottering
- flogging
- wallowing
- muddling
- weltering
- teetering
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- flying
- coasting
- gliding
- zipping
- zooming
- kilting
- sailing
3
as in drooling
to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and usually unintelligibly overcome with stage fright, I could only bumble through the speech Synonyms & Similar Words
- drooling
- chatting
- stuttering
- gibbering
- chattering
- babbling
- sputtering
- jabbering
- muttering
- gabbling
- prattling
- shrieking
- shouting
- mumbling
- drivelling
- driveling
- blithering
- screeching
- blathering
- stammering
- blabbering
- prating
- trolling
- smattering
- bleating
- yakking
- gabbing
- rattling
- yacking
- mouthing
- murmuring
- maundering
- pattering
- jangling
- jawing
- chuntering
- tittle-tattling
- running on
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- pronouncing
- articulating
- enunciating