bungle

Might she get in front of a news camera, or on a debate stage, and bungle so badly that an adversary features her in an ad?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Add the examples from psychology and the bungle we're making of the Earth we "manage," and humans don't have good evidence to put ourselves at the top of some kind of evolutionary hierarchy after all.

From Salon ● May 29, 2025

So, yes, let’s hold college presidents’ feet to the fire when they bungle on a major issue.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 17, 2023

I worried that it’d be complicated or that a service issue would bungle the beginning of our trip to the happiest place on Earth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2023

“Seems simple, don’t it? But I’m sure you’ll find a way to bungle it. ”

From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo

Its title comes from a Delhi University slang: to "give it those ones" is to perform one's usual act - bungles included.

From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026

But it still bungles the Lemon test question, the Clay-Randolph duel location and a question about MTV’s top video of 1996.

From Washington Times ● May 29, 2023

Charlotte and George marry, then George immediately bungles their budding marital bliss.

From Salon ● May 6, 2023

But if those were my worst bungles in 12 months, I’ll settle for them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2023

You working in a gas office, while old O'Hara bungles and hacks, and I struggle along on what I learned from you!

From K by Rinehart, Mary Roberts

On the hard-news side, she bungled big moments like an interview with Vladimir Putin, who batted away her questions about 2016 election meddling with an exasperated performance of ignorance.

From Slate ● May 6, 2026

Her claims have triggered demonstrations, promises to tighten the law and criticism that Chancellor Friedrich Merz has bungled his response.

From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026

South Korea's former president Yoon Suk Yeol capped a remarkable fall from grace on Thursday when he was sentenced to life imprisonment over his bungled efforts to impose military rule.

From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026

A report commissioned by the city would later fault him and the police chief at the time for a bungled emergency response that left residents feeling abandoned.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026

As we shall see in chapter 6, many spurious rules, including some that have made national headlines, are the result of bungled analyses of grammatical categories like adjective, subordinator, and preposition.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

I’m calling my shot: This will be the year that the Three Lions, the bungling, deadbeat clown show of international soccer, finally do it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

The Lions completed a historic comeback, with a little help from a bungling David Campese.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2025

Funneled into the framework of a prom slasher, the bungling of "Fear Street: Prom Queen" feels downright pernicious.

From Salon ● May 24, 2025

She also faced accusations of bungling the city’s finances, contributing to a dire budget shortfall this fiscal year that will almost certainly require sweeping cuts across government departments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025

Ranofer, flushing hot as he coaxed the flame, could only fume at his own bungling.

From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw