blunder
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈblʌn.də(ɹ)/
ipa: /ˈblʌn.dɚ/
rhymes: -ʌndə(ɹ)
Forms: form: blunders
form: blundering
form: blundered
form: blundered
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English blundren, blondren (verb) and blunder, blonder (“disturbance, strife”), from the verb; partly from Middle English blondren, a frequentative form of Middle English blonden, blanden ("to mix; mix up"; corresponding to blend + -er); and partly from Middle English blundren, a frequentative form of Middle English blunden (“to stagger; stumble”), from Old Norse blunda (“to shut the eyes; doze”). Cognates include Norwegian blunda (“to shut the eyes; doze”), dialectal Swedish blundra (“to act blindly or rashly”), Danish blunde (“to blink”) or blunde (“to take a nap”), Icelandic blunda (“to nap; doze”). Related to English blind.
Senses: examples: text: to blunder in preparing a medical prescription
glosses: To make a big mistake, especially when it is careless or stupid.
topics: backgammon
board-games
chess
games
glosses: To make a big mistake, especially when it is careless or stupid.
To make a bad move, especially caused by tactical oversight.
examples: text: blunder a rook
topics: board-games
chess
games
glosses: To make a big mistake, especially when it is careless or stupid.
To lose a piece due to having made a bad move [with the piece lost].
info_templates: extra_data: words: the
piece
lost
expansion: [with the piece lost]
examples: text: blunder a draw
text: blunder a mate in one
topics: board-games
chess
games
glosses: To make a big mistake, especially when it is careless or stupid.
To overlook the possibility of, or end up in, a specified undesirable situation after making a bad move.
examples: text: I was never distinguished for address, and have often even blundered in making my bow.
ref: October 6, 1759, Oliver Goldsmith, The Bee No. 1
text: blunders on, and staggers every pace
ref: 1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
glosses: To move in an unsteady way.
raw_tags: with adverb or preposition
examples: text: He and I had blundered into the middle of a gang fight once and I saw him shank a guy-stuck homeboy in the chest and strolled off cool as you please.
ref: 2007 May 6, Steve Geng, “First Chapter: ‘Thick as Thieves’”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Jun 2015:
glosses: To enter a place or become involved in a difficult situation by mistake.
raw_tags: with adverb or preposition
examples: text: He blunders and confounds all these together.
ref: 1676, Edward Stillingfleet, A Defence of the Discourse Concerning the Idolatry Practised in the Church of Rome:
text: Were a Diſpute to be manag'd purely for a Trial of Skill; then to ſhuffle and digreſs from the Matter in hand, ſo as by any means whatſoever to blunder an Adverſary, and ſtop the Progreſs of his Argument, were a more pardonable Piece of Folly.
ref: 1714, Humphry Ditton, A discourse concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
glosses: To do or treat in a blundering manner; to confuse.
Derived terms: blunderer
blundering
blunderingly
blundery
outblunder
unblundered
unblundering