Link Centre Dictionary

bungle

US/ˈbʌŋɡ(ə)l/ rare
noun (1) verb (2)

noun

1.

verb

1.

make a mess of, destroy or ruin

  • “I botched the dinner and we had to eat out”
  • “the pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement”
Synonyms
2.

spoil by behaving clumsily or foolishly

  • “I bungled it!”

Origin

The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is either: * onomatopoeic in origin (compare bumble (“to act in an inept, clumsy or inexpert manner; to make mistakes”), fumble (“to grope awkwardly in trying to find something; to blunder uncertainly”)); or * from Old Norse; compare Old Swedish bunga (“to strike”), and dialectal Swedish bangla (“to work ineffectually”). The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates * German Bengel (“cudgel; rude fellow”) * Middle High German bungen (“to hammer”)

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.