fumble
Noun · VerbUS[fuhm-buhl]/ˈfʌmbəl/2 syllables
Open English WordNet
Verb (5)fumbled, fumbling
- feel about uncertainly or blindly“She groped for her glasses in the darkness of the bedroom”Synonyms: gropeMore general search, seek
- make one's way clumsily or blindly“He fumbled towards the door”Synonyms: blunderMore general pass
- handle clumsilyMore general handle, palm
- 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: botchbodgebumblebotch upmuffblowflubscrew upball upspoilmuck upbunglefluffbollixbollix upbollocksbollocks upbobblemishandlelouse upfoul upmess upfuck upMore general fail, go wrong
- drop or juggle or fail to play cleanly a grounder“fumble a grounder”More general play
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irascibleadjective
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Fum′ble intransitive verb [past tense & past participle Fumbled; present participle & verbal noun Fumbling.]
Origin: Akin to D. fommelen to crumple, fumble, Sw. fumla to fusuble, famla to grope, Dan. famle to grope, fumble, Icel. falme, AS. folm palm of the hand. See Feel, and cf. Fanble, Palm.
1. To feel or grope about; to make awkward attempts to do or find something.
Adams now began to fumble in his pockets.— Henry Fielding
2. To grope about in perplexity; to seek awkwardly; as, to fumble for an excuse. John Dryden
My understanding flutters and my memory fumbles.— Chesterfield.
Alas! how he fumbles about the domains.— William Wordsworth
3. To handle much; to play childishly; to turn over and over.
I saw him fumble with the sheets, and play with flowers.— William Shakespeare
Fum′ble transitive verb
To handle or manage awkwardly; to crowd or tumble together. William Shakespeare
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54