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
Leslie Nielsen, whose legendary turn as bumbling L.A. detective Frank Drebin still has fans merrily reciting his most famous lines, passed away in 2010.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 1 Aug. 2025
Grenier, 48, played Nate Cooper, Andy's bumbling college boyfriend who was not received well by fans of the film.
—Sharareh Drury, People.com, 21 July 2025
But on set, with prospective subjects, this endearing young ingenue became a bumbling neurotic.
—David Gauvey Herbert, IndieWire, 3 June 2025
This further exacerbates Joe's measly sheriff's office, consisting of two deputies who now double as his bumbling campaign staff.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for bumbling
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Alex Ritman, Variety, 1 Aug. 2025
Grenier, 48, played Nate Cooper, Andy's bumbling college boyfriend who was not received well by fans of the film.
—Sharareh Drury, People.com, 21 July 2025
But on set, with prospective subjects, this endearing young ingenue became a bumbling neurotic.
—David Gauvey Herbert, IndieWire, 3 June 2025
This further exacerbates Joe's measly sheriff's office, consisting of two deputies who now double as his bumbling campaign staff.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 18 July 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 5 Aug. 2025.
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