Bungled
/ˈbʌŋɡəld/
verbB2past tense
Definition
To bungle something means to do it in a careless or clumsy way, often causing it to fail or go wrong. It usually involves mistakes or poor skill that make the result worse than expected. People often use it when talking about tasks, jobs, or plans that were not done well.
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See It in Action
To perform a task badly or clumsily
- •He bungled the presentation and forgot his main points.
- •She bungled the recipe by adding too much salt.
- •The workers bungled the installation of the new machine.
To make mistakes that cause failure or problems
- •The police bungled the investigation, letting the suspect escape.
- •They bungled the project by missing important deadlines.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "bungled" like "made a mistake," but with a feeling of clumsiness or carelessness, not just a small error
- ✓Picture someone trying to fix a chair but dropping the tools and breaking the leg instead
- ✓It's the feeling when you try hard but everything seems to go wrong because of your mistakes
- ✓Sounds like "bungle" → imagine a "bungee" cord snapping because it was not tied well, causing a mess
- ✓Think of a funny story where a character tries to do something important but keeps messing it up, like a cartoon character dropping things
- ✓NOT like "fixed" or "completed well"—bungled means the opposite, something done badly
- ✓NOT like "accident" (which can happen without fault)—bungled means the person caused the problem by not doing the job properly
- ✓NOT like "forgot"—bungled means the action was done but done poorly, not just missed
Try Other Words
- •Mess up: to do something badly or wrongly (Use when the mistake is informal or small)
- •Botch: to do something very badly (Use when emphasizing poor skill or failure)
- •Flub: to make a mistake, especially in speaking or performance (Use in casual or informal situations)
- •Fumble: to do something clumsily, often with hands (Use when physical clumsiness is involved)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: "bungle" (root verb) + "-ed" (past tense ending)
- •Etymology: Origin uncertain but likely from English slang in the 19th century meaning to blunder or make mistakes
- •Historical development: Used since the 1800s to describe doing things badly or clumsily
- •Modern usage: Commonly used to describe mistakes in work, tasks, or plans that cause problems or failure
Reflect & Connect
•Can you think of a time when you bungled a task? What happened and how did you fix it?
•How is bungling different from simply making a small mistake or forgetting something?
Fill in the blanks
1.He bungled the report by ___ important information and making many errors.
2.When they bungled the plan, the event ___ because nothing was organized well.
3.Bungled often shows that the problem was caused by ___, not by bad luck.
4.Instead of helping, she bungled the repair and made the machine ___.
5.They bungled the job so badly that they had to ___ everything and start again.
6.A bungled performance usually makes the audience feel ___ or disappointed.
7.You can say someone bungled ___ when they did not prepare well and made many mistakes.