Bad / Mistake

noun

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aberration - A departure from what is normal, usual, or expected.

The principal let Johnny go without any punishment, because his outburst had been an aberration from his usual good behavior.

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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blooper - An embarrassing error

Movies will frequently have blooper reels where the actors laugh and ruin a scene.

noun

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fiasco - A thing that is a complete failure, especially in a ludicrous or humiliating way

In the 1980s, Coca-Cola released New Coke, which ended up being one of the costliest business fiascos ever.

noun

See verb

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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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blurt - To say (something) suddenly and without careful consideration

Xavier felt embarrassed when he blurted out the answer before hearing the whole question.

noun

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blunder - A stupid or careless mistake

Emma realized she had made a huge blunder when she accidentally deleted the entire spreadsheet.

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.

verb

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bungle - To carry out a task clumsily or incompetently, leading to failure or an unsatisfactory outcome

The painter bungled his job when he misspelled the word on the road sign.

noun

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gaffe - An unintentional act or remark causing embarrassment to its originator; a blunder

When the politician made a huge gaffe at the debate, he realized he was going to lose the election.

adjective

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excessive - Going beyond what is considered acceptable or appropriate.

He was fined for driving at an excessive speed through a school zone.

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.