What does "bungle" mean?
A botched or incompetently handled action or situation; a blunder.
Bungle
/ˈbʌŋɡ(ə)l/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A botched or incompetently handled action or situation; a blunder.
- Grammar: bungle is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: blunder, botch, bad job, ball up.
- Useful contrasts: excel, expert, field competence.
- Usage evidence: Travel agents may be left in the firing line after a bungle from Singapore Airlines saw business fares sold at economy prices.
How to use "bungle"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bungle" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bungle" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bungle" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bungle" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bungle" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "blunder" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bungle", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A botched or incompetently handled action or situation; a blunder.
"VVherefore this Religious affection vvhich nature has implanted, and as ſtrongly rooted in Man as the feare of death or the love of vvomen, vvould be the moſt enormous ſlip or bungle ſhe could commit, ſo that ſhe vvould ſo ſhamefully faile in the laſt Act, in this contrivance of the nature of Man, that inſtead of a Plaudite ſhe vvould deſerve to be hiſſed off the Stage."
- 2 an embarrassing mistake wordnet
Verb
- 1 To incompetently perform (a task); to ruin (something) through incompetent action; to botch up, to bumble. transitive
"I always had an idea that it would be bungled; but was willing to hope, and am still so. Whatever I can do by money, means, or person, I will venture freely for their freedom; and have so repeated to them (some of the Chiefs here) half an hour ago."
- 2 spoil by behaving clumsily or foolishly wordnet
- 3 To act or work incompetently; to fumble. intransitive
"Physis is nothing else but the vegetable World, the Universall comprehension of Spermaticall life dispersed throughout. […] For Physis (as I said) is not the divine Understanding it self, but is as if you should conceive, an Artificers imagination separate from the Artificer, and left alone to work by it self without animadversion. Hence Physis or Nature is sometimes puzzeld and bungells in ill disposed matter, because its power is not absolute and omnipotent."
- 4 make a mess of, destroy or ruin wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Travel agents may be left in the firing line after a bungle from Singapore Airlines saw business fares sold at economy prices."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bungle"?
Common synonyms include: blunder, botch, bad job, ball up, ballock, ballup.
How do you use "bungle" in a sentence?
Travel agents may be left in the firing line after a bungle from Singapore Airlines saw business fares sold at economy prices.
How do you pronounce "bungle"?
Pronounced /ˈbʌŋɡ(ə)l/.
Etymology
The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is either: * onomatopoeic in origin (compare bumble (“to act in an inept, clumsy or inexpert manner; to make mistakes”), fumble (“to grope awkwardly in trying to find something; to blunder uncertainly”)); or * from Old Norse; compare Old Swedish bunga (“to strike”), and dialectal Swedish bangla (“to work ineffectually”). The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates * German Bengel (“cudgel; rude fellow”) * Middle High German bungen (“to hammer”)