bungle
Americanverb (used with object)
-
bungles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bungled,
past participle, past
-
bungling
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
bungles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bungled,
past participle, past
-
bungling
present participle
noun
-
a bungling performance.
-
that which has been done clumsily or inadequately.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bunglesimple
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bunglessimple
-
have bungledperfect
-
has bungledperfect
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am bunglingprogressive
-
are bunglingprogressive
-
is bunglingprogressive
-
have been bunglingperfect progressive
-
has been bunglingperfect progressive
Past
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bungledsimple
-
had bungledperfect
-
was bunglingprogressive
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were bunglingprogressive
-
had been bunglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bungle
First recorded in 1520–30; of uncertain origin
Explanation
Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, dropping something, tripping and falling: these are some classic bungles — and they’re always embarrassing. Bungles are bummers, it’s true. Ever said something awkward in front of a grandparent or dropped a cake on someone’s lap? Those are bungles — accidents that make you blush. Bungle can also be used as a verb when someone acts like a fool or simply messes everything up, as in “The teacher bungled her lecture because she left her notes at home,” or “My bungling dad fell into the punch bowl. Again.”
Vocabulary lists containing bungle
And Then There Were None
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The Things They Carried
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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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.
See Examples For:
Leave it to “SNL” to bungle what should have been a slap shot straight into an open goal.
From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2026
Olympic bosses, who never met an issue they couldn’t bungle, fretted about precedent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
So, yes, let’s hold college presidents’ feet to the fire when they bungle on a major issue.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 17, 2023
Do we have it in our power to choose comedy over catastrophe and thereby give ourselves another day to bungle along?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
And this time I will not bungle things!
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Its title comes from a Delhi University slang: to "give it those ones" is to perform one's usual act - bungles included.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
That’s become a common theme for many of the bungles where AI is involved: It’s not the tool, but the user.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 24, 2023
Charlotte and George marry, then George immediately bungles their budding marital bliss.
From Salon ● May 6, 2023
But if those were my worst bungles in 12 months, I’ll settle for them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2023
There is no room in it either for the idler who consumes but renders no service, or for the unskilled man who bungles a task to which he has not been trained.
From Britain at Bay by Spenser Wilkinson
Neff led a bungled election integrity case at the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026
On the hard-news side, she bungled big moments like an interview with Vladimir Putin, who batted away her questions about 2016 election meddling with an exasperated performance of ignorance.
From Slate ● May 6, 2026
Her claims have triggered demonstrations, promises to tighten the law and criticism that Chancellor Friedrich Merz has bungled his response.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
South Korea's former president Yoon Suk Yeol capped a remarkable fall from grace on Thursday when he was sentenced to life imprisonment over his bungled efforts to impose military rule.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
Nicole went for a fist bump, but Mary Lou bungled it.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
The diplomat, John Barrett, told a Colombian reporter that Washington had “a great deal of confidence…in the local authorities,” vouching for the Rodríguez government even as many Venezuelans accused it of bungling the response.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
His true, bungling nature—something that’ll likely be on display as a gubernatorial candidate—shines through in the smaller moments.
From Slate ● Dec. 11, 2025
The Lions completed a historic comeback, with a little help from a bungling David Campese.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2025
Funneled into the framework of a prom slasher, the bungling of "Fear Street: Prom Queen" feels downright pernicious.
From Salon ● May 24, 2025
In this building lived the bungling managers, Mr. and Mrs. Trepid; their assistant, Morgan; and thirteen children, ranging in age from six months to thirteen years.
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
