blunder

[ bluhn-der ]

noun

1. a gross, stupid, or careless mistake:

   That's your second blunder this morning.

   Synonyms: error

verb (used without object)

1. to move or act blindly, stupidly, or without direction or steady guidance:

   Without my glasses I blundered into the wrong room.

2. to make a gross or stupid mistake, especially through carelessness or mental confusion:

   Just pray that he doesn't blunder again and get the names wrong.

verb (used with object)

1. to bungle; botch:

   Several of the accounts were blundered by that new assistant.

2. to utter thoughtlessly; blurt out:

   He blundered his surprise at their winning the award.

blunder

/ ˈblʌndə /

noun

1. a stupid or clumsy mistake
2. a foolish tactless remark

verb

1. to make stupid or clumsy mistakes
2. to make foolish tactless remarks
3. often foll byabout, into, etc to act clumsily; stumble

   he blundered into a situation he knew nothing about

4. tr to mismanage; botch

Derived Forms

• ˈblunderer, noun
• ˈblundering, nounadjective
• ˈblunderingly, adverb

Other Words From

• blunder·er noun
• blunder·ing·ly adverb
• non·blunder·ing adjective noun
• non·blunder·ing·ly adverb
• outblunder verb (used with object)
• super·blunder noun
• un·blunder·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of blunder¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English blunderen, blondren (verb), from Old Norse blunda “to shut one's eyes, nap”; compare Norwegian dialect blundra

Word History and Origins

Origin of blunder¹

C14: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse blunda to close one's eyes, Norwegian dialect blundra ; see blind

Synonym Study

See mistake.

Example Sentences

They minimize delays and blunders in customer service, and can also guide visitors to various parts of your website, allowing you to automate tedious aspects of customer service and focus efforts on tasks that move prospects further down the funnel.

From Search Engine Watch

The alleged tampering blunder with Bogdanovic felt so crushing because Milwaukee has limited salary cap flexibility to fill that glaring need.

From Washington Post

All that said, Coinbase has seen firsthand that turning a blind eye to politics can lead to huge business blunders.

From Fortune

As a result of the blunder, a plan was quashed for Recombinetics to raise an experimental herd in Brazil.

From Singularity Hub 

Stopping to question your motives is the first step to harnessing the power of trending keywords without making a marketing blunder.

From Search Engine Watch

“The rape question was a tremendous blunder,” Doar later observed.

From The Daily Beast

But that the CNN-John King blunder even happened is a cause for alarm.

From The Daily Beast

He said the desperate, unplanned rush north was “the biggest blunder of the campaign.”

From The Daily Beast

I tried a half-dozen other representatives, none who could remedy the blunder, all who cited different reasons for the occurrence.

From The Daily Beast

Above all, this is not the time to blunder into horrendous religious and civil wars with direct and extensive U.S. military force.

From The Daily Beast

I must make no mistake, and blunder into a national type of features, all wrong; if I make your mask, it must do us credit.

From Project Gutenberg

So far, so good; but, in another quarter, Allcraft suddenly discovered that he had committed an egregious blunder.

From Project Gutenberg

By some extraordinary blunder of the commissariat the 32d had set forth that morning without breaking their fast.

From Project Gutenberg

His gay debonair manner and his ready apology for his own blunder pleased Mrs. Calvert.

From Project Gutenberg

The insertion of whyte in l. 905, in the existing authorities, is surely a blunder, and I therefore have omitted it.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• blooper
• error
• fault
• gaffe
• goof
• inaccuracy
• indiscretion
• lapse
• oversight