bungle

verb

bun·​gle ˈbəŋ-gəl 

bungled; bungling ˈbəŋ-g(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

: to act or work clumsily and awkwardly

bungled badly in the campaign

transitive verb

: mishandle, botch

bungle a job

bungled the investigation

bungle noun

bungler

ˈbəŋ-g(ə-)lər 

noun

Synonyms

• blow
• bobble
• boggle
• bollix (up)
• boot
• botch
• bugger (up)
• bumble
• butcher
• dub
• flub
• fluff
• foozle
• foul up
• fumble
• goof (up)
• louse up
• mangle
• mess (up)
• muck up
• muff
• murder
• screw up

Examples of bungle in a Sentence

The government bungled badly in planning the campaign.

bungled the job the first time she tried to do it

Recent Examples on the Web

The warning underscores the extent of the crisis at Volkswagen, which has bungled a transition to electric vehicles and lost relevance in China, where its VW, Audi and Porsche brands are hemorrhaging market share. —Stefan Nicola, Fortune Europe, 30 Sep. 2024

Trump claims to have presided over a time of broad and magnificent prosperity, arguing that there was a Trump economic renaissance before Biden bungled it. —Christian Paz, Vox, 25 Sep. 2024

Daemon bungled that order and had Aegon's firstborn son and heir, Jaeherys, murdered instead. —Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 5 Aug. 2024

However, during a talk at Dartmouth this past June, OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati bungled the company line. —Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 2 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Icelandic banga to hammer

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

bungle

verb

bun·​gle ˈbəŋ-gəl 

bungled; bungling -g(ə-)liŋ 

: to act, do, make, or work badly

bungle a job

bungle noun

bungler

-g(ə-)ler 

noun