Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Fumbling |
FumblingAdjective1. Showing lack of skill or aptitude; "a bungling workman"; "did a clumsy job"; "his fumbling attempt to put up a shelf". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "fumbling" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references) |
Synonyms: FumblingSynonyms: bungling (adj), clumsy (adj), incompetent (adj). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Fumbling |
| English words defined with "fumbling": bungling ♦ clumsy ♦ incompetent. (references) |
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | -- Nearing the end of the fumbling act. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Besides the Jondrette woman was still fumbling over her old iron |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | The students saluted, Temple fumbling as before at the peak of his cap. |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | Grampa, fumbling with his chest, had succeeded in buttoning the buttons of his blue shirt into the buttonholes of his underwear |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Fumbling" is generally used as a lexical verb (-ing form) -- approximately 90.23% of the time. "Fumbling" is used about 133 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) | 90.23% | 120 | 29,358 |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 3.76% | 5 | 157,705 |
| Noun (proper) | 3.01% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Noun (singular) | 3.01% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Total | 100.00% | 133 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; 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 |
fumbling | 9 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "fumbling"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Finnish | hapuileva (groping, tentative, uncertain). (various references) | |
French | fouillant. (various references) | |
German | umhertastend, tastend (groping, gropingly). (various references) | |
Hungarian | turkálás (rummage), tapogatódzás (feeler), kétbalkezes (blunderer, blundering, bumbling, butter-fingered, fumbler, ham-fisted, lopsided, lubberly), idétlen (berk, ungainly, unsightly), ügyetlenkedés (bungling), ügyetlen (awkward, blundering, clumsy, freshwater, gawky, gimp, half-assed, impolitic, inexpert, left handed, lumpish, maladroit, uneasy, unhandy, unskilful, unskillful), összekeverés (immixture, incorporation, mingle, mixing up, shuffling). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 手探り (groping). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | てさぐり (groping). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | umblingfay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | hesitante (deliberate, diffident, double-minded, doubting, dubious, faltering, half-hearted, halting, hesitant, indecisive, irresolute, limp, perplexed, reluctant, undecided, unresolved, vacillating, wavering, wobbly), desastrado (awkward, bumbling, butterfinger, disastrous, heavy-handed, left-handed, maladroit), desajeitado (awkward, backhanded, blundering, boorish, bulky, bumbling, chuckle, cloddish, clownish, clumsy, cubbish, floppy, gawky, graceless, hawbuck, hobbledehoy, homely, hulking, ill-favored, ill-favoured, ill-mannered, inexpert, left-handed, lout, loutish, low-bred, lubber, lubberly, maladroit, muff, shiftless, uncouth, ungainly, ungraceful, unhandy, unskilful, unwieldy, wooden). (various references) | |
Romanian | neîndemânatic (awkward, awkwardly, buckram, butter fingers, butter-fingered, clumsily, clumsy, gawky, inapt, left handed, lubberly, maladroit, uncouth, ungainly, unskilful, unversed), neîndemânare (awkwardness, clumsiness, left-handedness, lubber, lubberliness, lumpishness, rawness), dibuit, dibuialã. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | mumlajući. (various references) | |
Spanish | revuelto (churned, higgledy-piggledy, scrambled, troubled, turned, unruly). (various references) | |
Swedish | fumlig (hamfisted, ham-handed, maladroit). (various references) | |
Turkish | el yordamıyla yapılan, beceriksizce yapılan, beceriksiz (awkward, bungler, bungling, clumsy, Duff, duffer, feckless, flat-footed, gauche, gawky, ham-fisted, ham-handed, heavy-handed, helpless, impractical, inapt, incompetent, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficacious, inept, inexpert, left handed, lubber, maladroit, manque, ne'er do well, never-do-well, oaf, oafish, resourceless, rude, shiftless, slouch, unaccomplished, unhandy, unskilful, untalented). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | невмілий (artless, blundering, botchy, bungling, handless, ineffective, inept, inexpert, unskilful, unskilled), незграбний (angular, artless, awkward, blundering, bouncing, bovine, clumsy, cubbish, cumbersome, gangling, gauche, gawky, gnarled, graceless, ham-fisted, hulking, lob, lubberly, maladroit, oafish, shamble, splay, splayfooted, uncouth, ungainly, unskilful, wooden), буркотливий (acidulated, acidulous, capernoited, crabbed, criss cross, cross-grained, currish, grouchy, nagging, sourish, testy). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | balbus, confusim. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "fumbling": fumblingly. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "fumbling": outfumbling. (additional references) | |
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"Fumbling" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: dumbling, Fomblin, futballing. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "fumbling" (pronounced fu"mbuling or fu"mbling) |
| 7 | -u" m b u l i ng | bumbling, crumbling, 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 | annealing, appalling, appealing, ailing, angling, 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 | annealing, appalling, appealing, ailing, ambling, angling, 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, bumbling, 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, 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-f-g-i-l-m-n-u" | |
-1 letter: bluming, fluming. | |
-2 letters: bluing, fuming, ingulf, lubing, muling. | |
-3 letters: filum, fling, flung, fungi, linum, lungi. | |
-4 letters: blin, bumf, bung, film, flub, glib, glim, glum, gulf, iglu, limb, limn, ling, lung, muni, numb. | |
-5 letters: big, bin, bug, bum, bun, fib, fig, fil, fin, flu, fub, fug, fun, gib, gin, gnu, gul, gum, gun, lib, lin, lug. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-f-g-i-l-m-n-u" | |
+2 letters: fumblingly. | |
+3 letters: outfumbling. | |
| 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. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Photo Album 6. Quotations: Fiction 7. Usage Frequency 8. Expressions: Internet | 9. Translations: Modern 10. Translations: Ancient 11. Derivations 12. Rhymes | 13. Anagrams 14. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
