as in uncomfortable
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1
as in blowing
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
her assistant fumbled the party plans by getting the time wrong on the invitations
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in groping
to search for something blindly or uncertainly
the librarian fumbled for the light switch as she entered the dark room
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in stumbling
to make a mistake
just when it looked like he was going to get away with the ruse, he fumbled
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Recent Examples of fumbling
Ellise Shafer, Variety, 1 Apr. 2026
The characters are precisely strange, interestingly fumbling, and share with Days and Nights’s protagonists an anxious impatience and confusion.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
That bond helped buoy Stevenson through hard days, which peaked with the return of a fumbling problem that dogged him last year.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
Signs of hypothermia in adults include shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech and drowsiness.
—Jarrod Wardwell, Houston Chronicle, 26 Jan. 2026
The robbery, fumbling and amateur, unfolds in classic Reichardt detail, down to Mooney overlooking the fact that the day he’s chosen happens to be one when he’s supposed to be watching his kids, who’ll be out of school.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
One-word answers litter the path toward your desperate, fumbling attempt to get away.
—Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 1 Oct. 2025
No stars are required to dress up and parade for the cameras or to answer fumbling questions from the press; no juries haggle over prizes; and, above all, there is no obligation to observe the highly suspect principle that the latest thing is bound to be the best.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Literary Hub, 24 Apr. 2026
Be ill-prepared for Christmas and face the danger of fumbling your most profitable time of the year.
—Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
With the title in their grasp, the Ducks have greased up their fingers, fumbling into a four-game winless slump.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 4 Apr. 2026
Last season’s Detroit Tigers endured the worst divisional collapse in history, fumbling an AL Central lead that reached 15 1/2 games in July.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
One is how the administration is kind of fumbling around.
—Steve Metsch, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
This alone can shave valuable minutes off your screening and help you to breeze through the scanner instead of fumbling at the bins.
—Kayla Kitts, Travel + Leisure, 13 Mar. 2026
Kathy Ireland accused her former team of fumbling her multimillion-dollar fortune, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
—Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 11 Mar. 2026
Since the first release in December, critics have accused the administration of fumbling the rollout and withholding too many documents.
—Arkansas Online, 5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
Gone is the fumbling little girl of before, replaced by a woman full of anger and ready to take her own life to prove her love.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 1 Apr. 2026
The characters are precisely strange, interestingly fumbling, and share with Days and Nights’s protagonists an anxious impatience and confusion.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
That bond helped buoy Stevenson through hard days, which peaked with the return of a fumbling problem that dogged him last year.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
Signs of hypothermia in adults include shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech and drowsiness.
—Jarrod Wardwell, Houston Chronicle, 26 Jan. 2026
The robbery, fumbling and amateur, unfolds in classic Reichardt detail, down to Mooney overlooking the fact that the day he’s chosen happens to be one when he’s supposed to be watching his kids, who’ll be out of school.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
One-word answers litter the path toward your desperate, fumbling attempt to get away.
—Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 1 Oct. 2025
No stars are required to dress up and parade for the cameras or to answer fumbling questions from the press; no juries haggle over prizes; and, above all, there is no obligation to observe the highly suspect principle that the latest thing is bound to be the best.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
There was an emotional honesty that embraced the idea that growth isn’t always linear (see Andie from The Devil Wears Prada, fumbling a relationship with a good guy because her career came first).
—Literary Hub, 24 Apr. 2026
Be ill-prepared for Christmas and face the danger of fumbling your most profitable time of the year.
—Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
With the title in their grasp, the Ducks have greased up their fingers, fumbling into a four-game winless slump.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 4 Apr. 2026
Last season’s Detroit Tigers endured the worst divisional collapse in history, fumbling an AL Central lead that reached 15 1/2 games in July.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
One is how the administration is kind of fumbling around.
—Steve Metsch, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
This alone can shave valuable minutes off your screening and help you to breeze through the scanner instead of fumbling at the bins.
—Kayla Kitts, Travel + Leisure, 13 Mar. 2026
Kathy Ireland accused her former team of fumbling her multimillion-dollar fortune, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
—Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 11 Mar. 2026
Since the first release in December, critics have accused the administration of fumbling the rollout and withholding too many documents.
—Arkansas Online, 5 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fumbling
Adjective
-
After consulting with the Ravens’ team physician — and those of the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants — DeCosta became uncomfortable with the prognosis.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
No longer in the context of the coffee shop, the manager looked uncomfortable and out of place, his power diminished, an average guy in a bad suit, who had had to take time off from his job to come downtown to a federal office in an Art Deco building.—
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In addition, strong winds over desert areas could result in briefly lowered visibilities to well under a mile at times in blowing dust or blowing sand.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
25 Apr. 2026
-
This kind of build-up is unusual because volatile elements like sodium, which can get exposed after an object is blasted with micrometeorites, are usually later depleted by solar winds blowing from the sun and the general influence of space.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Jennifer Jackson, 39, was charged with felony counts of groping a 15-year-old girl and vandalism.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Sheriff got into a tussle with his killer after the stranger started drunkenly groping women, including the victim’s girlfriend, according to Fawaz.—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The title track, with its glassy melody and woozy, almost stumbling groove, deploys wholesome, end-of-the-night, comedown energy not unlike Bicep’s most beloved tracks.—
Reid BG,
Pitchfork,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Pack comfortable shoes and enjoy stumbling upon the secrets of the city.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Cut and stitched in Arusha, 10 tents—including two family suites—form a horseshoe from the main area, each filled with wooden furnishings crafted by local carpenters.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Nara Park is home to over 1,000 freely roaming sacred deer, and the Todai-ji Temple inside is the world’s largest wooden structure.—
Lauren Schuster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
And Kash Patel's FBI seems to be bungling the investigation at every step.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Cricket was shot for yapping uncontrollably, bungling the mission, and killing innocent bystanders.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
McGovern, who is thirty-nine, appeared in the courtroom looking trim, with a neat beard and the hint of a residual Emirati tan.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026
-
At the time of the move, Venable said the Sox were looking for an offensive boost behind the plate.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
After Dobes was penalized for tripping Yanni Gourde, Point took Jake Guentzel’s centering pass and ripped a shot past Dobes’ blocker from the high slot.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Cellphone video shot by a bystander then showed the man tripping and falling on his face as officers aggressively detained him moments later.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fumbling. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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