bun·gle / ˈbənggəl/ • v. [tr.] carry out (a task) clumsily or incompetently, leading to failure or an unsatisfactory outcome: she had bungled every attempt to help [as adj.] (bungled) a bungled bank raid. ∎  [intr.] [usu. as adj.] (bungling) make or be prone to making many mistakes: the work of a bungling amateur.• n. a mistake or failure, typically one resulting from mismanagement or confusion.DERIVATIVES: bun·gler / -g(ə)lər/ n.

bungle XVI. prob. of symbolic formation. like synon. and contemp. †bumble.