Fumbling

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Fumble \Fum"ble\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Fumbled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Fumbling}.] [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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Adams now began to fumble in his pockets.
                                                    --Fielding.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To grope about in perplexity; to seek awkwardly; as, to
        fumble for an excuse. --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              My understanding flutters and my memory fumbles.
                                                    --Chesterfield.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Alas! how he fumbles about the domains.
                                                    --Wordsworth.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To handle much; to play childishly; to turn over and over.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I saw him fumble with the sheets, and play with
              flowers.                              --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  fumbling
       adj : showing lack of skill or aptitude; "a bungling workman";
             "did a clumsy job"; "his fumbling attempt to put up a
             shelf" [syn: {bungling}, {clumsy}, {incompetent}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  48 Moby Thesaurus words for "fumbling":
     all thumbs, awkward, blunderheaded, blunderheadedness, blundering,
     boggling, boorish, botchery, botching, bumbling, bungling,
     butterfingered, careless, carelessness, clownish, clumsy,
     clumsy-fisted, cumbersome, fingers all thumbs, gauche, gawkish,
     gawky, graceless, ham-fisted, ham-handed, heavy-handed, hulking,
     hulky, inelegant, left-hand, left-handed, loutish, lubberly,
     lumbering, lumpish, maladroit, muffing, oafish, ponderous,
     sloppiness, sloppy, stiff, too many cooks, uncouth, ungainly,
     ungraceful, unhandy, unwieldy