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blunder

[bluhn-der]
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noun
  1. a gross, stupid, or careless mistake: That's your second blunder this morning.
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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.
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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.
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Origin of blunder

1350–1400; Middle English blunderen, blondren, (v.) < Old Norse blunda shut one's eyes, nap; compare Norwegian dialect blundra
Related formsblun·der·er, nounblun·der·ing·ly, adverbnon·blun·der·ing, adjective, nounnon·blun·der·ing·ly, adverbout·blun·der, verb (used with object)su·per·blun·der, nounun·blun·der·ing, adjective

Synonyms

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1. error. See mistake.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for blundering

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But if I was a blundering amateur in all this, they were not so much discourteous as envious.

  • It will be strange if I cannot find roads which shall baffle these blundering soldiers.'

    Micah Clarke

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • All night he ran, blundering in the darkness into mishaps and obstacles that delayed but did not daunt.

    White Fang

    Jack London

  • "My blundering vision could not see how the strands were being woven," he added.

    Cleo The Magnificent

    Louis Zangwill

  • Suddenly the idea that he was blundering again exasperated him.

    His Masterpiece

    Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for blundering

blunder

noun
  1. a stupid or clumsy mistake
  2. a foolish tactless remark
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verb (mainly intr)
  1. to make stupid or clumsy mistakes
  2. to make foolish tactless remarks
  3. (often foll by about, into, etc) to act clumsily; stumblehe blundered into a situation he knew nothing about
  4. (tr) to mismanage; botch
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Derived Formsblunderer, nounblundering, noun, adjectiveblunderingly, adverb

Word Origin

C14: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse blunda to close one's eyes, Norwegian dialect blundra; see blind
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for blundering

mid-14c. as a present participle adjective; mid-15c. as a verbal noun, from blunder (v.). Related: Blunderingly.

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blunder

v.

mid-14c., "to stumble about blindly," from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse blundra "shut one's eyes," from PIE root *bhlendh- (see blind). Meaning "make a stupid mistake" is first recorded 1711. Related: Blundered; blundering.

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blunder

n.

mid-14c., apparently from blunder (v.), though of about the same age.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper