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
The gangland drama is deeper and darker than the domestic one, strengthened by the unexpected portrayal of the Russian toughs as bumbling in their own way.
—Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026
Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O'Dowd, Regina Hall, Brett Goldstein and more) resolve to help the town's bumbling police officer (Nicholas Braun) solve the crime and investigate a series of local suspects.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
The Cubs were fortunate to have the bumbling Mets in town at the right time, and cruised to their third straight win behind home runs from Moisés Ballesteros, Nico Hoerner and Happ.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
This quality didn’t wear as well on Leslie Knope, or perhaps the supporting characters didn’t do enough to balance her out, or perhaps, alas, a bumbling woman just read differently.
—Jennifer Armstrong, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bumbling
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Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026
Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O'Dowd, Regina Hall, Brett Goldstein and more) resolve to help the town's bumbling police officer (Nicholas Braun) solve the crime and investigate a series of local suspects.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
The Cubs were fortunate to have the bumbling Mets in town at the right time, and cruised to their third straight win behind home runs from Moisés Ballesteros, Nico Hoerner and Happ.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
This quality didn’t wear as well on Leslie Knope, or perhaps the supporting characters didn’t do enough to balance her out, or perhaps, alas, a bumbling woman just read differently.
—Jennifer Armstrong, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bumbling
Cite this Entry
“Bumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bumbling. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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