bumbling
adjective
bum·bling
ˈbəm-b(ə-)liŋ 
: awkwardly blundering or faltering
a bumbling speaker
: prone to or marked by foolish mistakes
a bumbling attempt to fix the problem
… many Americans see the F.D.A. as bumbling and inefficient …—
Herbert Burkholz
Herbert Burkholz
bumblingly
adverb
… none of them truly wants him in her home while he tries, bumblingly, to get his act together …
—Laura Collins-Hughes
Laura Collins-Hughes
Examples of bumbling in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
At the Orpheum, without comedy as a safety net, Murray occasionally came across like a bumbling bar patron roped into a high-stakes karaoke night.
—Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 11 Apr. 2025
Related Stories Movies Sian Barbara Allen, Actress in 'You'll Like My Mother' and 'The Waltons,' Dies at 78
Far Out Space Nuts, starring Bob Denver and Chuck McCann as bumbling maintenance workers turned accidental space travelers, aired for one season (1975-76) on CBS.
—Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 1 Apr. 2025
Take Dopey, whose bumbling, silent rendition in the 1937 film has led to retrospective diagnoses of a developmental condition.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
His high-octane style and brash physical comedy complement Momoa’s take on Garrett, a bumbling championship gamer living in the shadow of his glory days.
—Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bumbling
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 11 Apr. 2025
Related Stories Movies Sian Barbara Allen, Actress in 'You'll Like My Mother' and 'The Waltons,' Dies at 78
Far Out Space Nuts, starring Bob Denver and Chuck McCann as bumbling maintenance workers turned accidental space travelers, aired for one season (1975-76) on CBS.
—Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 1 Apr. 2025
Take Dopey, whose bumbling, silent rendition in the 1937 film has led to retrospective diagnoses of a developmental condition.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
His high-octane style and brash physical comedy complement Momoa’s take on Garrett, a bumbling championship gamer living in the shadow of his glory days.
—Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bumbling
Cite this Entry
“Bumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bumbling. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share