bumbling

American  

[buhm-bling] / ˈbʌm blɪŋ /

adjective

1. liable to make awkward blunders.

   a bumbling mechanic.

2. clumsily incompetent or ineffectual.

   bumbling diplomacy.

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noun

1. the act or practice of making blunders.

   The bumbling of their officers cost them the battle.

Other Word Forms

• bumblingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of bumbling

First recorded in 1525–35; bumble ¹ + -ing ²

Example Sentences

When attached to a character, indeterminacy manifests itself as confusion, and the novel mines a lot of humor from the bumbling of its poet-antihero.

From The Wall Street Journal

Which was so typical: the bumbling mammals wreaking havoc, even when no havoc was intended.

From Literature

Even George W. Bush — the bumbling boardwalk caricature that he is — could deliver a State of the Union address without going off-prompter.

From Salon

Several shared memes of Mr. Bean giving the middle finger, likening Iranian retaliatory attacks on the Gulf to the bumbling comedic character.

From The Wall Street Journal

You’re going to get a refresh of the QB’s bumbling history against the Patriots—including the miserable night with the Jets when he complained he was “seeing ghosts”—but this dude isn’t that dude.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• inept