fumble -
An act of using the hands clumsily while doing or handling something
Owen made a major fumble on his date when he knocked over his glass of wine.
adjective
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culpable -
Deserving to be blamed or considered responsible and guilty for something bad that happened.
The mother felt that her oldest son was more culpable for the messy bedroom than his younger brother, because he should have known better.
verb
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scuttle -
To be forced to cancel one's plans
Because he couldn't give up his smoking habit, Barry had to scuttle his plans to be a great runner.
adjective
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negligent -
To mistakenly fail to do something that should have been done
Bill admitted that he was negligent in not locking the door, and as a result the house was robbed.
noun
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liability -
Something that is likely to cause a problem.
Joe was going to choose Fred as his running mate, but then he realized that Fred's drinking problem would just make him a liability, so he chose someone else.
verb
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backfire -
To have the opposite effect of what was intended, usually producing a negative result.
At the company meeting, his attempt to lie backfired, and when the truth came out, he was very embarrassed.
noun
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futility -
the quality being ineffective, useless, unsuccessful, and achieving nothing.
Elon Musk confronted the common attitude regarding the futility of going to Mars, and is proving them wrong.
noun
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unforgivable -
So bad as to be unable to be forgiven or excused
He was fired because the company felt that stealing money was an unforgivable act.
verb
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fizzle -
To finish in a way that is disappointing
At the start of his race for mayor it looked like Fred was going to win, but his many verbal mistakes caused his candidacy to just fizzle out.
noun
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fluke -
Unlikely chance occurrence, especially a surprising piece of luck
Since he was the worst player on his baseball team, Taylor knew the home run he had just hit was a fluke.
adjective
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spurious -
False and incorrect
The teacher showed Max that his scientific conclusions were wrong because they were based on spurious facts and logic.
verb
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squander -
To waste something, such as money or time, in a reckless and foolish manner
Many lottery winners end up squandering their fortune and returning to their life of poverty.
