Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Bumbling |
BumblingAdjective1. Not skillful in physical movement especially with the hands; "a bumbling mechanic"; "a bungling performance"; "ham-handed governmental interference"; "could scarcely empty a scuttle of ashes, so handless was the poor creature"- Mary H. Vorse. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Synonyms: BumblingSynonyms: bungling (adj), butterfingered (adj), ham-fisted (adj), ham-handed (adj), handless (adj), heavy-handed (adj), left-handed (adj). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Bumbling |
| English words defined with "bumbling": bungling, butterfingered ♦ ham-fisted, ham-handed, handless, heavy-handed ♦ left-handed. (references) |
| Domain | Title |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Bumbling" is generally used as a lexical verb (-ing form) -- approximately 66.67% of the time. "Bumbling" is used about 30 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Lexical Verb (-ing form) | 66.67% | 20 | 78,262 |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 20% | 6 | 143,867 |
| Noun (singular) | 10% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Noun (proper) | 3.33% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 30 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "bumbling": once-bumbling. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
bumbling | 9 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "bumbling"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | i paaftë (disabled, guiltless, helpless, impaired, impotent, inapt, incapable, incompetent, inefficient, inept, muff, spado, unable, unskilful, weak). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | тромав (awkward, clumsy, cumbersome, cumbrous, elephantine, flat-footed, gawky, hamfisted, heavy, hulking, lumbering, lumpish, lumpy, maladroit, ponderous, rude, shambling, stodgy, ungainly, ungraceful, unhandy, unwieldy), непохватен (artless, awkward, chuckle, clumsy, gawky, heavy, lubberly, two-fisted, uncouth, ungainly, unhandy, unskilful). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | břídilský (bungling), zpackaný, neohrabaný (awkward, clumsy, cumbersome, gauche, ham-fisted, ham-handed, hulking, inept, unwieldy, wooden), nemotorný (awkward, clumsy, elephantine, gauche, gawky, ham-fisted, ham-handed, heavy-handed, oafish, ungainly, unskillful). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | schusselig (all thumbs, blundering, clumsy, daft, muddle-headed, scatterbrained, scatty). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | kétbalkezes (blunderer, blundering, butter-fingered, fumbler, fumbling, ham-fisted, lopsided, lubberly). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | umblingbay bárbaro (barbarian, barbaric, barbarous, brute, cloddish, cruel, fell, gothic, heathendom, inhuman, larrikin, lawmaker, low-lived, ruffianly, tramontane, truculent, uncivilized, uncouth, wild), trapalhão (bungler, clumsy, dabbler), tosco (cloddish, clumsy, crude, gross, harsh, rugged, uncouth, unhewn), rude (abrupt, backwoods, barbaric, boisterous, caveman, cloddish, coarse, crude, discourtesy, displeasing, disrobe, got-up, gruff, harsh, homespun, hussar, incondite, knockabout, larrup, lowly, point blank, raw, rough, rude, rugged, rumbustious, rustic, snippy, tart, tough, unaffable, uncivil, uncouth, uneducated, ungracious, unkind, unnurtured, unpolished, untaught, upstage), rústico (backwoods, boor, boorish, bumpkin, chuff, churl, churlish, cloddish, clodhopper, clown, countrified, hawbuck, hickory, hind, homely, ill mannered, lob, louver, low brow, lubber, lubber-head, mucker, pease, rude, rural, rustic, rustical, uncouth, underbred, yokel), pedante (cloddish, donnish, pedant, pedantic, prig, priggish, square-toed, uncouth, wiseacre), inculto (barbaric, caveman, cloddish, devastated, fallow, larrikin, low-cut, low-lived, rough, rustic, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unenlightened, unformed, uninformed, unlaboured, unlearned, unpolished, unposted, unreclaimed, unschooled, untutored, waste, wild), incómodo (ailment, annoyance, annoying, awkward, cumbersome, cumbrous, discomfort, dreadful, heavy-laden, importune, incommodious, inconvenience, inconvertible, intrusive, left-hander, meddler, muff, nagging, nuisance, pesky, plaguy, ragtime, rush, shrill, thorn, tiresome, trouble, troublesome, uncomfortable, unhandy, untoward, unwelcome, vexatious, vexing, worrisome), grosseiro (a.b.c., abc, awkward, bearish, blanket, boorish, caddish, churlish, cloddish, clownish, clumsy, coarse, coarse grained, common, crass, crude, cub, curmudgeon, curmudgeonly, earwax, gross, gruff, harsh, heavy-handed, hogmanay, home-made, ill mannered, ill-conceived, impolite, incondite, indelicate, inelaborate, joggly, lacerated, left handed, lob, loutish, low-bred, lubberly, lumpish, piggish, ragged, ribald, rough, rude, rugged, scurrilous, surly, swinish, thick, uncivil, uncouth, uncultivated, unkind, unladylike, unmannerly, unparliamentary, untaught, vulgar, vulgarian, wooden), desastrado (awkward, butterfinger, disastrous, fumbling, heavy-handed, left handed, maladroit), desajeitado (awkward, backhanded, blundering, boorish, bulky, chuckle, cloddish, clownish, clumsy, cubbish, floppy, fumbling, gawky, graceless, hawbuck, hobbler, homely, Hull, ill mannered, ill-favored, ill-favoured, inexpert, left handed, lout, loutish, low-bred, lubber, lubberly, maladroit, muff, shiftless, uncouth, ungainly, ungraceful, unhandy, unskilful, unwieldy, wooden), canhestro (uncouth). (various references) неуклюжий (bulky, cack-handed, chuckle, cloddish, clumsy, clunky, cubbish, gangly, gawky, goon, hamfisted, ham-fisted, heavy-handed, hulking, left handed, lout, lubberly, maladroit, oafish, splay, two-fisted, uncouth, ungainly, unhandy, unskilful, unwieldy). (various references) sklon pravjlenju grubih grešaka. (various references) torpe (awkward, blockish, blundering, butterfingered, butterfingers, clumsy, duffer, dull, dullish, fathead, heavy, labored, laboured, left handed, left-hander, logy, lumberingly, rough, shiftless, slow witted, slowcoach, slowpoke, stodgily, thick, torpid, wall eyed), altanero (arrogant, haughty, high and mighty, lofty, pride, proud, snooty, snuffy, stuck up, supercilious, upstage). (various references) ซึ่งทำผิ"พลา". (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | Bombus. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "bumbling": bumblingly, bumblings. (additional references) | |
| |
"Bumbling" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: bimbling, dumbling. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "bumbling" (pronounced bu"mbuling or bu"mbling) |
| 7 | -u" m b u l i ng | crumbling, fumbling, grumbling, humbling, mumbling, rumbling, stumbling, tumbling. |
| 6 | -m b u l i ng | ambling, assembling, gambling, resembling, scrambling, trembling. |
| 5 | -b u l i ng | babbling, bubbling, dabbling, disabling, doubling, dribbling, enabling, gobbling, hobbling, labeling, mislabeling, nibbling, quibbling, redoubling, scribbling, squabbling, tabling, troubling, warbling, wobbling. |
| 4 | -u l i ng | backpedaling, baffling, barreling, battling, belittling, bicycling, boggling, bottling, bristling, bugling, bundling, bungling, bustling, cackling, canceling, cancelling, channeling, chortling, circling, coddling, commingling, counseling, cradling, crippling, cycling, dangling, dazzling, Dialing, disgruntling, dismantling, drizzling, dwindling, embezzling, empaneling, encircling, entitling, equaling, fizzling, fondling, funneling, giggling, groveling, grueling, gurgling, guzzling, haggling, hassling, huddling, hurdling, hustling, idling, imperiling, initialing, intermingling, jiggling, jostling, juggling, leveling, mangling, marshaling, meddling, middling, mingling, modeling, mottling, muddling, muscling, paddling, paneling, parceling, pedaling, peddling, piddling, pummeling, puzzling, quadrupling, quarreling, raveling, recycling, refueling, remodeling, reshuffling, reveling, rippling, rivaling, ruffling, saddling, scuttling, settling, shriveling, shuttling, signaling, signalling, singling, sizzling, spiraling, spiralling, stapling, stenciling, strangling, struggling, swiveling, throttling, tingling, tinkling, toppling, totaling, totalling, toweling, traveling, travelling, tripling, tunneling, twinkling, unraveling, unsettling, waggling, wiggling, wrangling, wrinkling, yodeling. |
| 3 | -l i ng | ailing, angling, annealing, appalling, appealing, assailing, bailing, baling, balling, bankrolling, beguiling, Belling, billing, blackmailing, boiling, Bolling, bowling, brawling, broiling, buckling, burgling, burling, cajoling, calling, Carling, ceiling, chilling, chronicling, chuckling, compelling, compiling, concealing, consoling, controlling, cooling, corralling, countervailing, coupling, cowling, crackling, crawling, cuddling, culling, curling, curtailing, darling, dawdling, dealing, decoupling, derailing, detailing, dispelling, dissembling, distilling, doling, drilling, drooling, duckling, dueling, dulling, dumpling, dwelling, earthling, emailing, enrolling, entailing, entangling, excelling, expelling, extolling, failing, falling, feeling, felling, fiddling, filing, filling, flailing, fledgling, foaling, foiling, fooling, forestalling, foretelling, fouling, foundling, freewheeling, fueling, fuelling, fulfilling, galling, grappling, Grayling, grilling, groundling, growling, hailing, handling, hauling, healing, heckling, helling, hilling, holing, howling, hurling, hurtling, inhaling, inkling, installing, instilling, jailing, Keeling, killing, kindling, kneeling, lolling, Lulling, mailing, Marling, Melling, milling, mishandling, misspelling, mothballing, mulling, nailing, needling, nestling, nonruling, oiling, outselling, overbilling, overhauling, overkilling, overruling, overselling, panhandling, paralleling, parboiling, paroling, patrolling, pearling, peeling, pickling, piling, Pilling, Pindling, poling, polling, pooling, prevailing, profiling, propelling, prowling, pulling, quelling, quilling, Quisling, railing, rambling, rankling, rappelling, rattling, rebelling, recalling, reconciling, reeling, regaling, rekindling, repealing, repelling, rescheduling, reselling, retailing, retelling, retooling, revealing, ridiculing, Riesling, rifling, rilling, roiling, rolling, rototilling, ruling, rustling, sailing, sampling, Sandling, sapling, scaling, scheduling, Schilling, schooling, scowling, sealing, seedling, Seeling, selling, shelling, shilling, shoveling, shuffling, sibling, skilling, smelling, smiling, smuggling, snarling, Snelling, snowballing, sparkling, Sparling, spelling, spilling, spoiling, sprawling, sprinkling, squealing, stalling, starling, startling, stealing, sterling, stifling, stockpiling, stonewalling, storytelling, straddling, strickling, stripling, strolling, styling, suckling, surveilling, swashbuckling, swelling, swilling, swindling, swirling, tackling, tailing, tangling, telling, thrilling, Tilling, toddling, toggling, toiling, tolling, tooling, trailing, trampling, trickling, trifling, trilling, trolling, twiddling, twirling, unappealing, unavailing, unbundling, underling, underselling, unfailing, unfeeling, unfurling, unsmiling, untangling, unveiling, unwilling, veiling, waffling, wailing, walling, weakling, welling, whaling, wheeling, whirling, whistling, whittling, wholesaling, wiling, willing, wrestling, yearling, yelling. |
| 5 | -m b l i ng | dissembling, rambling. |
| 4 | -b l i ng | sibling. |
| 3 | -l i ng | ailing, ambling, angling, annealing, appalling, appealing, assailing, assembling, babbling, backpedaling, baffling, bailing, baling, balling, bankrolling, barreling, battling, beguiling, belittling, Belling, bicycling, billing, blackmailing, boggling, boiling, Bolling, bottling, bowling, brawling, bristling, broiling, bubbling, buckling, bugling, bundling, bungling, burgling, burling, bustling, cackling, cajoling, calling, canceling, cancelling, Carling, ceiling, channeling, chilling, chortling, chronicling, chuckling, circling, coddling, commingling, compelling, compiling, concealing, consoling, controlling, cooling, corralling, counseling, countervailing, coupling, cowling, crackling, cradling, crawling, crippling, crumbling, cuddling, culling, curling, curtailing, cycling, dabbling, dangling, darling, dawdling, dazzling, dealing, decoupling, derailing, detailing, Dialing, disabling, disgruntling, dismantling, dispelling, distilling, doling, doubling, dribbling, drilling, drizzling, drooling, duckling, dueling, dulling, dumpling, dwelling, dwindling, earthling, emailing, embezzling, empaneling, enabling, encircling, enrolling, entailing, entangling, entitling, equaling, excelling, expelling, extolling, failing, falling, feeling, felling, fiddling, filing, filling, fizzling, flailing, fledgling, foaling, foiling, fondling, fooling, forestalling, foretelling, fouling, foundling, freewheeling, fueling, fuelling, fulfilling, fumbling, funneling, galling, gambling, giggling, gobbling, grappling, Grayling, grilling, groundling, groveling, growling, grueling, grumbling, gurgling, guzzling, haggling, hailing, handling, hassling, hauling, healing, heckling, helling, hilling, hobbling, holing, howling, huddling, humbling, hurdling, hurling, hurtling, hustling, idling, imperiling, inhaling, initialing, inkling, installing, instilling, intermingling, jailing, jiggling, jostling, juggling, Keeling, killing, kindling, kneeling, labeling, leveling, lolling, Lulling, mailing, mangling, Marling, marshaling, meddling, Melling, middling, milling, mingling, mishandling, mislabeling, misspelling, modeling, mothballing, mottling, muddling, mulling, mumbling, muscling, nailing, needling, nestling, nibbling, nonruling, oiling, outselling, overbilling, overhauling, overkilling, overruling, overselling, paddling, paneling, panhandling, paralleling, parboiling, parceling, paroling, patrolling, pearling, pedaling, peddling, peeling, pickling, piddling, piling, Pilling, Pindling, poling, polling, pooling, prevailing, profiling, propelling, prowling, pulling, pummeling, puzzling, quadrupling, quarreling, quelling, quibbling, quilling, Quisling, railing, rankling, rappelling, rattling, raveling, rebelling, recalling, reconciling, recycling, redoubling, reeling, refueling, regaling, rekindling, remodeling, repealing, repelling, rescheduling, reselling, resembling, reshuffling, retailing, retelling, retooling, revealing, reveling, ridiculing, Riesling, rifling, rilling, rippling, rivaling, roiling, rolling, rototilling, ruffling, ruling, rumbling, rustling, saddling, sailing, sampling, Sandling, sapling, scaling, scheduling, Schilling, schooling, scowling, scrambling, scribbling, scuttling, sealing, seedling, Seeling, selling, settling, shelling, shilling, shoveling, shriveling, shuffling, shuttling, signaling, signalling, singling, sizzling, skilling, smelling, smiling, smuggling, snarling, Snelling, snowballing, sparkling, Sparling, spelling, spilling, spiraling, spiralling, spoiling, sprawling, sprinkling, squabbling, squealing, stalling, stapling, starling, startling, stealing, stenciling, sterling, stifling, stockpiling, stonewalling, storytelling, straddling, strangling, strickling, stripling, strolling, struggling, stumbling, styling, suckling, surveilling, swashbuckling, swelling, swilling, swindling, swirling, swiveling, tabling, tackling, tailing, tangling, telling, thrilling, throttling, Tilling, tingling, tinkling, toddling, toggling, toiling, tolling, tooling, toppling, totaling, totalling, toweling, trailing, trampling, traveling, travelling, trembling, trickling, trifling, trilling, tripling, trolling, troubling, tumbling, tunneling, twiddling, twinkling, twirling, unappealing, unavailing, unbundling, underling, underselling, unfailing, unfeeling, unfurling, unraveling, unsettling, unsmiling, untangling, unveiling, unwilling, veiling, waffling, waggling, wailing, walling, warbling, weakling, welling, whaling, wheeling, whirling, whistling, whittling, wholesaling, wiggling, wiling, willing, wobbling, wrangling, wrestling, wrinkling, yearling, yelling, yodeling. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-b-g-i-l-m-n-u" | |
-1 letter: bluming. | |
-2 letters: bluing, lubing, muling. | |
-3 letters: linum, lungi. | |
-4 letters: blin, blub, bulb, bung, glib, glim, glum, iglu, limb, limn, ling, lung, muni, numb. | |
-5 letters: bib, big, bin, bub, bug, bum, bun, gib, gin, gnu, gul, gum, gun, lib, lin, lug, lum, mib, mig, mil, mug, mun, nib, nil, nim, nub. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-b-g-i-l-m-n-u" | |
+1 letter: bumblings. | |
+2 letters: bejumbling, bumblingly. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)42 75 6D 62 6C 69 6E 67 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)-... ..- -- -... .-.. .. -. --. |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000010 01110101 01101101 01100010 01101100 01101001 01101110 01100111 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)B u m b l i n g |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0042 0075 006D 0062 006C 0069 006E 0067 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)3687796878758073 |
| Language | Coverage | Language Translations |
Albanian | fjalor, qartësi, përcaktim, saktësi, transmetim, transferim | shqip, албанец, албански език, албански, albánský, albaner, albán, albanês, албанский, albanski, albanac, albanés |
Bulgarian | речник, яснота, сила, очертания, дефиниция, транслация, превеждане, предаване, поддаване, тълкуване, огъване, превод | bulgr, български, български език, българин, bulharský, bulgare, bolgár, болгарский, болгарин, bugarski jezik, bugarski, bugarka, bugarin, búlgaro |
Czech | slovník, definice, překlad | çek, чешки, èesky, èeské, èech, èeština, èeský, èeška, Tscheche, tschechisch, Tschechin, cseh, чешский, češki jezik, čeh, češki, checo |
German | wörterbuch, Übersetzung | gjerman, германски, немски език, немски, немец, роден, готически, германец, nìmec, nìmecký, deutsch, Deutsche, német, alemão, немецкий, germanski, alemán, าษาเยอรมัน, เยอรมัน |
Hungarian | szótár, meghatározás, definíció, fordítás | унгарски език, унгарски, унгарец, maïarský, maïarština, maïar, Ungar, magyar, венгр, венгерский, mađarski jezik, mađarski, mađar, húngaro, ชาวฮังการี |
Portuguese | dicionário, definição, tradução | portugez, portugalisht, португалски, португалски език, португалец, portugalský, portugiesisch, portugál, português, португальский, portugalski jezik, portugalac, portugalski, portugués |
Russian | словарь, определение, трансляция, сдвиг, перевод, перемещение | руски език, руски, руснак, ruština, ruský, Russe, russisch, orosz, русский, ruski jezik, ruski, ruso, ชาวรัสเซีย |
Serbo-Croatian | leksikon, rečnik, definicija, tumačenje | serbokroatisch, servo-croata, srpsko-hrvatski jezik, srpsko-hrvatski, เกี่ยวกับ าษาเซอร์เบียและโครเอเชีย, าษาหลักของชาวเซอร์เบียและโครเอเชีย |
Spanish | diccionario, definición, traducción | spanjoll, испански език, испански, španìlský, španìlština, spanisch, spanyol, espanhol, испанский, španski, španski jezik, español |
Thai | พจนานุกรม | thailändisch, Thailänder, tailandês, tailandés, าษาไทย, เกี่ยวกับคนไทย, ที่เกี่ยวกับประเทศไทย, คนไทย |
English | Dictionary, Definition, Translation | anglezët, anglez, gjuhë zngleze, anglishte, anglisht, английски език, английски, англичаните, anglicky, englisch, angol, inglês, английский, engleski, englez, engleski jezik, inglés, เกี่ยวกับประเทศอังกฤษ, ชาวอังกฤษ, าษาอังกฤษ |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Usage Frequency 6. Expressions 7. Expressions: Internet 8. Translations: Modern | 9. Translations: Ancient 10. Derivations 11. Rhymes 12. Anagrams | 13. Orthography 14. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
