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
Examples of bumbling in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Quickly realizing she has been stood up, Zena is persuaded to have a drink with the bumbling but charming local Paul, played by Laviscount.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 May 2024
These protagonists are often bumbling, and their relationship to ethics is distinctly off-and-on.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 14 May 2024
The political neophyte was a bumbling candidate who ran a terrible campaign.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2024
When two bumbling thieves (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) attempt to rob his home, Kevin begins an elaborately violent, slapstick battle of wits via booby traps involving a tarantula, paint buckets, and flamethrowers.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 16 Apr. 2024
The Rams did just enough to beat a bumbling Giants team that fell to 5-11.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2024
Led by the bumbling Sarge and the cynical Church, the soldiers navigate absurd situations and misunderstandings with a mix of humor and sci-fi elements.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 28 Mar. 2024
His bumbling, glasses-nudging Clark Kent was an exquisite screwball-comedy creation, and his Superman zipped through the skies with sublime aerodynamic sexiness.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 23 Jan. 2024
Rufo was silent about Kennedy’s thin resume or his bumbling efforts to lead the state’s flagship university system.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, The Denver Post, 19 Jan. 2024
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 May 2024
These protagonists are often bumbling, and their relationship to ethics is distinctly off-and-on.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 14 May 2024
The political neophyte was a bumbling candidate who ran a terrible campaign.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2024
When two bumbling thieves (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) attempt to rob his home, Kevin begins an elaborately violent, slapstick battle of wits via booby traps involving a tarantula, paint buckets, and flamethrowers.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 16 Apr. 2024
The Rams did just enough to beat a bumbling Giants team that fell to 5-11.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2024
Led by the bumbling Sarge and the cynical Church, the soldiers navigate absurd situations and misunderstandings with a mix of humor and sci-fi elements.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 28 Mar. 2024
His bumbling, glasses-nudging Clark Kent was an exquisite screwball-comedy creation, and his Superman zipped through the skies with sublime aerodynamic sexiness.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 23 Jan. 2024
Rufo was silent about Kennedy’s thin resume or his bumbling efforts to lead the state’s flagship university system.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, The Denver Post, 19 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bumbling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Bumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bumbling. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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