BUMBLED Synonyms: 153 Similar and Opposite Words

bumbled 1 of 2

verb (1)

past tense of bumble

as in hummed

to fly, turn, or move rapidly with a fluttering or vibratory sound a fly bumbling around the room while we were trying to sleep

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bumbled

2 of 2

verb (2)

past tense of bumble

as in fumbled

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stumbled

to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually I sort of bumbled through the dance number, hoping that it would soon end

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in chatted

to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and usually unintelligibly overcome with stage fright, I could only bumble through the speech

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of bumbled

Verb

Almost sounds silly now, with the way the team has stumbled and bumbled its way through the first four games. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026 The Tigers grew into a national power as Ole Miss bumbled through various coaches and an NCAA quagmire brought on by Hugh Freeze. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026 She was cast as Athena, the class ‘troublemaker’ was Odysseus, and the school’s headmaster bumbled around, one-eyed, as the Cyclops. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 17 July 2026 As the Rockies bumbled through the 2025 season, The Athletic asked rival executives about hypothetical ways to fix the franchise. — Andy McCullough, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025 After the Knicks bumbled away Game 1 and eventually lost the series in six contests, New York fired former Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau after five largely successful seasons. — Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025 The same year that Zipf secured his measure of posthumous fame, Harvard’s football team bumbled its way to a 1-8 record. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 5 Sep. 2025 Which is a shame because Cuoco’s chemistry with on-screen husband Chris Messina was entertaining, especially as the couple bumbled their way through the true crime craze comedy. — Hunter Ingram, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bumbled

Verb

After the team’s historic, championship-clinching summer, Thursday’s preseason matchup hummed with energy.

— Christian Allaire, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2026
At a local senior residence center this week, the participants hummed with lindens and then headed into the art room to reflect on paper, using sepia-brown linden ink.

— Kendra Nordin Beato, Christian Science Monitor, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of hummed

Verb

Thomas and Woods fumbled in the first half in Spartan territory — their first of the season on 118 combined carries thus far.

— Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
During Sunday night’s game against the Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle, Mahomes fumbled after a big hit, and roughly 22 players had a chance to recover the ball.

— Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

Russia stumbled in all three of its Phobos attempts as well as many other Mars endeavors.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 Oct. 2026
Munyon's Paw-Paw, an alcoholic beverage dating to the early 1900s, has been resurrected by two longtime spirits industry veterans who stumbled upon its unusual history during a family outing.

— Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of stumbled

Verb

Billboard chatted with October’s Hip-Hop Up & Comer, Noodah 05, about the origins of his name, why old-school R&B always has him in a chokehold, his desire to emulate André 3000, and his aspirations to become the new-age Thanos of rap.

— Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 15 Oct. 2026
Authorities say Green has chatted with hundreds of young girls online.

— Dan Raby, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of chatted

Verb

By morning, firefighting aircraft were back in the air dropping water on the Bryson fire in Malibu while the sound of generators purchased by outage-weary residents and business owners buzzed through the canyons.

— Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
The doorbell rang constantly as patient after patient walked up to the white window and the volunteer receptionist buzzed them in for their appointments.

— Tamar Hallerman, AJC.com, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of buzzed

Verb

The stocks are already down over 30% each in October as credit investors blew their yields out to distressed levels, doubting their business model of using aggressive levels of debt to build data centers.

— Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
After losing consecutive non-road games by three points both times, on Saturday night UT blew a 24-3 halftime lead to turn it a fourth-quarter tie.

— Mac Engel October 25, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of blew

Verb

The 3-3 Knights have struggled in the Big 12 since joining the conference, but tend to be better at home in the friendly confines of the Acrisure Bounce House.

— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
The shift signals a turning point for the left, which has historically struggled to counter the far-right’s dominant online presence and savvy digital strategy.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of struggled

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“Bumbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bumbled. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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