bumbling

[US]/'bʌmb(ə)lɪŋ/
Frequency: Very High

Translation

adj. pretending to be competent; clumsy; meddling
v. making a buzzing sound

Example Sentences

He kept bumbling on about something.

flies bumbling against the open jam jar;

I could hear my father bumbling about downstairs.

a film of two sisters bumbling around their home, making tea

"The old lady kept bumbling on about something, but nobody could understand her."

All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be pre-emotively put to death.

Real-world Examples

And he cultivates this everyman image of being chronically underprepared and even bumbling.

Source: NPR News July 2019 Collection

Mr Johnson is the favourite, but his bumbling style seems odd at a time of crisis.

Source: The Economist (Summary)

Yeah. - Fantastic. - None of them are moving particularly quickly, they're all just bumbling around together, really.

Source: The Secret Life of Cats

Other people think they're kind of bumbling and cute, and they'll walk up and take a selfie.

Source: TED Radio Hour

You're the victim here... hapless, bumbling, et cetera.

Source: We Bare Bears Season 2

But he's not a very good carpenter;he's what we might call a bumbling carpenter.

Source: 2012 English Cafe

Will this 30 day caffeine detox destroy my productivity completely and turn me into a bumbling idiot if I wasn't a bumbling idiot already?

Source: 30-Day Habit Formation Plan

So I read him unchallenging things, like the misadventures of the bumbling Mullah Nasruddin and his donkey.

Source: The Kite Runner

There are more than 20, 000 different species of bees buzzing around all over the world, and those bumbling insects are also maybe the most important pollinator.

Source: One Hundred Thousand Whys

Well, he had a couple of bumbling accidents in week one, but by midseason there's a chance that Etn snaps are going down while Gibbs are going up.

Source: Fantasy Football Player

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