bumbling

[ buhm-bling ]

adjective

1. liable to make awkward blunders:

   a bumbling mechanic.

2. clumsily incompetent or ineffectual:

   bumbling diplomacy.

noun

1. the act or practice of making blunders:

   The bumbling of their officers cost them the battle.

Other Words From

• bumbling·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of bumbling¹

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

Example Sentences

Right now, L.A.’s leaders are as bumbling as Orange County’s Angels.

From Los Angeles Times

An authentic if bumbling Walz wasn’t ready to slap down his lies.

From Salon

The year before the 2003 recall, GOP primary voters handily rejected a similar moderate, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, in favor of a much more conservative nominee, the bumbling Bill Simon Jr.

From Los Angeles Times

But before that, the Disney Channel was bumbling along since its launch in 1983, mostly broadcasting kids cartoons that harked back to the company’s animation renaissance in the early 1990s.

From Los Angeles Times

Twenty-two years ago, the pair famously met on the movie set of "Gigli," in which Affleck plays a bumbling mobster and Lopez plays the woman who helps him kidnap a young man.

From Salon

Related Words

• inept