as in humming
to fly, turn, or move rapidly with a fluttering or vibratory sound
a fly bumbling around the room while we were trying to sleep
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in fumbling
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
accused the White House staff of bumbling the announcement of the replacement for the cabinet post
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stumbling
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
I sort of bumbled through the dance number, hoping that it would soon end
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in chatting
to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and usually unintelligibly
overcome with stage fright, I could only bumble through the speech
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bumbling
Sophie Dodd, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
The Kings were booed off the floor Wednesday after bumbling their way through the team’s second-worst homestand of at least four games since February 2021.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 13 Nov. 2025
In true Reichardt fashion, the driving force of the film is not the crime itself, which takes place in bumbling fashion in the first third, but what happens afterward.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2025
Stars from Christmas Vacation and the original National Lampoon's Vacation reunited at a panel at Chicago Fan Expo earlier this month, where Randy Quaid and Beverly D'Angelo both recalled the Fletch star's difficulties portraying bumbling patriarch Clark Griswold during the 1989 holiday sequel.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bumbling
Verb
Kevin's dream of being home alone quickly turns into a hilarious nightmare and battle of wits when a pair of bumbling thieves attempts to break into his house.
—Sophie Dodd, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
The Kings were booed off the floor Wednesday after bumbling their way through the team’s second-worst homestand of at least four games since February 2021.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 13 Nov. 2025
In true Reichardt fashion, the driving force of the film is not the crime itself, which takes place in bumbling fashion in the first third, but what happens afterward.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2025
Stars from Christmas Vacation and the original National Lampoon's Vacation reunited at a panel at Chicago Fan Expo earlier this month, where Randy Quaid and Beverly D'Angelo both recalled the Fletch star's difficulties portraying bumbling patriarch Clark Griswold during the 1989 holiday sequel.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bumbling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bumbling
Verb
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People who live near data centers also complain about noise pollution from the cooling systems data centers use for their computers, which sometimes produce a humming noise.—
Raisa Habersham,
Miami Herald,
16 May 2026
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Photo by Vardan Papikyan on Unsplash Somewhere inside every electric vehicle, every grid-scale solar installation, every military drone humming over a desert, there is a sliver of material most people will never think about.—
Afdhel Aziz,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Santillan appears to be fumbling away his opportunity, allowing nine runs (eight earned) over his last five appearances.—
Mike Barner,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
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But Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace hit three-pointers while Smart was fumbling the ball and James and Hachimura were missing shots, while an Oklahoma City 8-0 run eventually gave them another 13-point lead that was never again challenged.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
Verb
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In a video shared on Facebook by comedian Mike Goldstein, the man can be seen stumbling out of the bathroom while still fastening his belt.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
17 May 2026
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Arriving at Badlands National Park feels like stumbling upon Mars.—
Stephanie Vermillion,
Travel + Leisure,
17 May 2026
Verb
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Then, almost two years into the investigation, Langston stopped by the police station and was chatting with a different administrator, who asked Langston whether the initial search had also been conducted in an older database that not everybody on staff knew about.—
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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When chatting at the Future 50 last summer, Green spoke for more than 12 minutes about his top schools and did not mention Georgia until the program was brought up.—
Jeff Sentell,
AJC.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Stockholm is buzzing with vitality and optimism for the future.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
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The spring and summer months bring buzzing bees, blooming flowers, sunny skies and baby deer.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
Verb
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San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who polled at 5% in the CBS survey, accused Becerra of bungling the federal government’s response to COVID-19, mpox and the influx in child migrants under former President Joe Biden.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
29 Apr. 2026
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And Kash Patel's FBI seems to be bungling the investigation at every step.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Many libraries’ orders went unfulfilled, and all but the largest ones were left struggling to get popular titles to their patrons.—
Adeel Hassan,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
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Across Oahu’s North Shore, an area famed for its big-wave surfing, the small farms that help supply the island’s food are struggling after back-to-back storms in March brought the state’s worst flooding in two decades.—
Jennifer Sinco Kelleher,
Los Angeles Times,
17 May 2026
Verb
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Dayanara Deschamps Betances was zipping northbound on her e-bike, with a 75-year-old passenger seated behind her, in the right lane of Amsterdam Ave.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
9 May 2026
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The Artemis 2 astronauts remained vigilant while zipping around the far side of the moon last month, on the ready to record meteoroid impact flashes on the lunar landscape.—
Leonard David,
Space.com,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bumbling. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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