noun, verb ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An instance of clumsiness, especially of the hands or fingers.

   "From the beginning her mini-campaign, with its many missteps and fumblings, seem mired in confusion."

Verb

1. 1
   present participle and gerund of fumble form-of, gerund, participle, present

Adjective

1. 1
   showing lack of skill or aptitude wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

bunglingall thumbsawkwardblunderheadedblunderheadednessblundering

Example

More examples

"After dropping a curtsey, she stood blinking at us with her bleared eyes and fumbling in her pocket with nervous, shaky fingers."

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.