Synonyms

botched

American

[bocht] / bɒtʃt /

adjective

spoiled by poor or clumsy work; bungled.

The teachers are up in arms about the botched rollout of the new standards, which caused unnecessary confusion and stress for them and their students.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of botch.

Other Word Forms

botchedly

adverb

Etymology

Origin of botched

botch ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

At hearings last December, defense attorneys attempted to suggest police in Altoona, central Pennsylvania, had botched the arrest.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

What is more baffling than the botched decision-making at the time is that officials have been going through what happened behind closed doors for months.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

Over an hour into a high-speed chase with the suspect, the sheriff’s department botched the deployment of a “grappler” net system intended to entangle the back wheels of the car to slow it down.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

Even before the Fail Mary, players, coaches and fans had already grown frustrated with weeks of botched calls.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Sybil and Molly encouraged her—they had badgered her into their pastime—but the quilt was botched.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023