bungling

C2+ Topic:Describing People

US /ˈbʌŋɡlɪŋ/ UK /ˈbʌŋɡlɪŋ/ See IPA manual

adj noun

Meanings

1

adj
clumsy and incompetent in action

His bungling attempts only made the leak worse.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · clumsy and incompetent in... clumsy incompetent ineptblunderingbotchedawkward maladroitham-fisted

Opposites

competent skillful adept proficient deft

Word family

Forms bunglingly

Derived forms bunglingly

Related forms bungle bungler

Etymology

Present participle of bungle, of obscure and probably imitative origin, used adjectivally to describe clumsy, incompetent action.

Topics

Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives

# bungling

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** ˈbʌŋɡlɪŋ
**IPA (UK):** ˈbʌŋɡlɪŋ

## Meanings
1. clumsy and incompetent in action

## Examples
- His bungling attempts only made the leak worse.

## Synonyms
- clumsy
- incompetent
- inept
- blundering
- botched
- awkward
- maladroit
- ham-fisted

## Antonyms
- competent
- skillful
- adept
- proficient
- deft

## Derived Forms
- bunglingly

## Related Forms
- bungle
- bungler

## Etymology
Present participle of bungle, of obscure and probably imitative origin, used adjectivally to describe clumsy, incompetent action.

## AI Etymology
Bungling is the present participle of bungle, of obscure and probably imitative origin, used adjectivally to describe clumsy, incompetent action. Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers clumsy and incompetent in action. The wider family includes derived forms such as bunglingly and related words such as bungle and bungler.

## Topics
- Describing People
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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bungling

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