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

When attached to a character, indeterminacy manifests itself as confusion, and the novel mines a lot of humor from the bumbling of its poet-antihero.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Even George W. Bush — the bumbling boardwalk caricature that he is — could deliver a State of the Union address without going off-prompter.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 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

“I’ve got it!” howls Pebble, who comes bumbling out of the exact wrong bush behind the marmot.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Related Words

• inept