bungler
/ˈbʌŋɡlə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · [bˈʌŋɡlɚ] /ˈbʌŋɡlər/ (ame, ipa) · [bˈʌŋɡlɚ] /ˈbəŋ-g(ə-)lər How to pronounce bungler (audio)/ (ame, mw)
bungler — noun
1. someone who carries out a task so clumsily or carelessly that the result is spoi
someone who carries out a task so clumsily or carelessly that the result is spoiled or has to be redone, often through silly mistakes rather than bad luck.
The plumber turned out to be a complete bungler, leaving Christopher's kitchen flooded by morning.
evaluative noun in the predicate after 'turned out to be'
Noor refused to hire that builder again, calling him a bungler who ruined every door he hung.
modified by a relative clause that lists the careless mistakes
Even careful surgeons can be branded bunglers if a single operation goes badly wrong in public.
Lucía apologised to the bride and groom, admitting she felt like a bungler after dropping the wedding cake.
The newspaper called the city council a pack of bunglers after the new bridge collapsed in heavy rain.
- klutz
informal, focuses on physical clumsiness rather than poor judgement
- bumbler
similar but milder; suggests slow confused effort rather than ruined results
- incompetent
more formal, broader — covers professional inability of any kind
- blunderer
near-synonym; emphasises specific obvious mistakes the person makes
- expert
someone who does the same task skillfully and reliably
- professional
produces clean results that don't have to be redone
文法句型
a bungler at + noun/gerund
用法筆記
Almost always negative and evaluative — the speaker is judging the person, not neutrally describing them. Frequently appears as a label in copular sentences (be / become / turn out to be a bungler) or as a name-calling complement (call / brand someone a bungler).