bungling


Also found in: Thesaurus.

bun·gle

 (bŭng′gəl)
v. bun·gled, bun·gling, bun·gles
v.tr.
To carry out badly or ruin through ineptitude; botch. See Synonyms at botch.
v.intr.
To work or act ineptly or inefficiently.
n.
A clumsy or inept performance; a botch: made a bungle of the case due to inexperience.

[Perhaps of Scandinavian origin.]

bun′gler n.
bun′gling·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.bungling - showing lack of skill or aptitude; "a bungling workman"; "did a clumsy job"; "his fumbling attempt to put up a shelf"
unskilled - not having or showing or requiring special skill or proficiency; "unskilled in the art of rhetoric"; "an enthusiastic but unskillful mountain climber"; "unskilled labor"; "workers in unskilled occupations are finding fewer and fewer job opportunities"; "unskilled workmanship"
2.bungling - lacking physical movement skills, especially with the hands; "a bumbling mechanic"; "a bungling performance"; "ham-handed governmental interference"; "could scarcely empty a scuttle of ashes, so handless was the poor creature"- Mary H. Vorse
maladroit - not adroit; "a maladroit movement of his hand caused the car to swerve"; "a maladroit translation"; "maladroit propaganda"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

bungling

adjective incompetent, blundering, awkward, clumsy, inept, botching, cack-handed (informal), maladroit, ham-handed (informal), unskilful, ham-fisted (informal) a bungling burglar
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
hálfkák

bungling

[ˈbʌŋglɪŋ] ADJtorpe, desmañado
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

bungling

[ˈbʌŋgəlɪŋ] adjmaladroit(e)
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

bungling

adj personunfähig, trottelhaft, dusselig (inf); attemptstümperhaft; some bungling idiot has …irgendein Trottel hat … (inf)
nStümperei f, → Dusseligkeit f (inf)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

bungling

[ˈbʌŋglɪŋ]
1. adjimbranato/a
2. nincompetenza
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
There was no bungling, no brutality; nothing of which to be ashamed in the whole transaction, as I am sure you will agree.
But I am so far from desiring to exhibit such pictures to the public, that I would wish to draw a curtain over those that have been lately set forth in certain French novels; very bungling copies of which have been presented us here under the name of translations.
And when ordinary fellows like you and me attempt to cope with their idiosyncrasies the result is bungling. Most women are moody and whimsical.
He who is frequently successful, gains much applause and popularity; but the clumsy thief, who is detected in some bungling attempt, is scoffed at and despised, and sometimes severely punished.
The black had learned his lesson sufficiently well so that the motor was started without bungling and the machine was soon under way across the meadowland.
He was warm, and bungling of speech, and very happy, as he replied to her, and there was dancing in his mind, throughout the telephone conversation, the memory of Browning and of sickly Elizabeth Barrett.
LABOUR has blasted the Tories for bringing UK to the brink of recession with "Brexit bungling".
Hyderabad: Even as Telangana students' stir against the bungling in Intermediate examination results continues unabated, two more youngsters have committed suicide, taking the toll to 19.
Sadly the PM and her bungling Cabinet have failed to recognise that there is a false economy in the politics of austerity and it simply leads to squandering more public money on clearing up the mess.
Sadly the PM and her bungling Cabinet colleagues have failed to recognise that there is a false economy in the politics of austerity and it simply leads to squandering more public money on clearing up the mess that follows.
Now chebukati after bungling Kenyan election is in another country to "observe" or bungle for others too".
KARACHI -- National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Karachi has arrested accused Allah Dino Bhayo for bungling related to Shikarpur uplift schemes.