bungle
2
6.5
- noun
- /ˈbʌŋɡəl/
- Another bungle, another traffic jam.
- a bureaucratic bungle
Examples
-
It means I don't need to care about making a faux pas, which is a nice word for bungle.
Fiction book (1996) -
This crew permits no bungles.
Blog text (11) -
Some didn't break rank, and that was a far greater bungle.
Fiction book (2000) -
An investigation into the death revealed a series of bungles by the state welfare agency that resulted in Lucas' adoption by Joe and Heather Ciambrone, who are awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges.
Academic text (1997) -
The technician's bungle in the experiment led to inaccurate results.
-
Her major bungle during the presentation left a negative impression on the audience.
-
The team's bungle in planning the event caused a lot of confusion.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A wrong action or decision
58
3.3
A mistake that happens when someone confuses one thing with another
54
7.2
A small mistake or little injury described in a childlike way
45
3.0
A careless mistake that causes embarrassment or problems
42
5.3
A small wrong action that causes embarrassment or harm to people's trust
34
6.1
A careless mistake that causes problems or embarrassment
25
6.5
A problem that happens because of a big mistake and spoils plans
13
3.4
A small mistake that is often embarrassing
12
6.1
An embarrassing mistake that happens in public or during a show
10
5.1
A situation that is badly organized and full of mistakes
7
9.9
A serious or embarrassing mistake that causes problems
7
8.2
A silly or embarrassing mistake
5
7.7
A serious, embarrassing mistake often caused by confusion or poor planning
5
7.7
An embarrassing mistake made when someone is careless or nervous
2
7.6
An embarrassing mistake that happens because of bad or careless work
1
8.7
An embarrassing mistake someone makes in public
1
6.7
An embarrassing mistake that shows you were careless
1
9.6
A serious mistake that happens because of confusion or poor planning
1
9.9
A situation made into a big mess by careless or bad actions
1
6.5
A small mistake that causes embarrassment or trouble
1
8.5
A big embarrassing mistake that other people notice
1
9.9
In a state of complete confusion because of a mistake or bad planning
A confused, badly organized situation that causes problems
A foolish mistake made without thinking that causes trouble
A short embarrassing mistake you make
How Serious
Surface Forms
Etymology
Bungle likely comes from an older English word bung, which means to 'put in roughly' or 'plug'. A helpful way to remember it is to imagine stuffing something into the wrong place, which explains why a bungle is a clumsy or careless mistake.