bumbling

American  

[buhm-bling] / ˈbʌm blɪŋ /

adjective

1. liable to make awkward blunders.

   a bumbling mechanic.

2. clumsily incompetent or ineffectual.

   bumbling diplomacy.

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noun

1. the act or practice of making blunders.

   The bumbling of their officers cost them the battle.

Other Word Forms

• bumblingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of bumbling

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

Example Sentences

These include the theater’s posh director Meredith Potter; Stella’s bumbling surrogate father, Uncle Vernon; and the heartthrob P.L.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Several shared memes of Mr. Bean giving the middle finger, likening Iranian retaliatory attacks on the Gulf to the bumbling comedic character.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

Why you should see it: You won’t get a bigger laugh than whatever Anna Faris and Regina Hall have planned for their bumbling characters, Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meeks.

From Salon • Jan. 4, 2026

He says he feels like he's the "bumbling buffoon" in the "walled garden that is traditional publishing" and that he's committed a kind of "literary heist".

From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025

Fresh arrivals to the Valentine farm made it so Cora was no longer the greenhorn, bumbling about.

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

Related Words

• inept