bungling C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈbʌŋɡlɪŋ/ UK /ˈbʌŋɡlɪŋ/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj clumsy and incompetent in action His bungling attempts only made the leak worse. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · clumsy and incompetent in... clumsyincompetentineptblunderingbotchedawkwardmaladroitham-fisted ↔ Opposites competentskillfuladeptproficientdeft Word family Forms bunglingly Derived forms bunglingly Related forms bunglebungler Etymology AI details Present participle of bungle, of obscure and probably imitative origin, used adjectivally to describe clumsy, incompetent action. Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # bungling **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **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 Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown