clumsy

[ kluhm-zee ]

adjective

, clum·si·er, clum·si·est.

1. awkward in movement or action; without skill or grace:

   He is very clumsy and is always breaking things.

   Synonyms: lubberly, lumbering, ungainly, ungraceful

2. awkwardly done or made; unwieldy; ill-contrived:

   He made a clumsy, embarrassed apology.

   Synonyms: inept, heavy-handed, bumbling, inexpert, maladroit, unskillful, unhandy

   Antonyms: skillful, adroit

clumsy

/ ˈklʌmzɪ /

adjective

1. lacking in skill or physical coordination
2. awkwardly constructed or contrived

Derived Forms

• ˈclumsiness, noun
• ˈclumsily, adverb

Other Words From

• clum·si·ly adverb
• clum·si·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of clumsy¹

1590–1600; clums benumbed with cold (now obsolete) + -y ¹; akin to Middle English clumsen to be stiff with cold, dialectal Swedish klumsig benumbed, awkward, klums numbskull, Old Norse klumsa lockjaw. See clam ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of clumsy¹

C16 (in obsolete sense: benumbed with cold; hence, awkward): perhaps from C13 dialect clumse to benumb, probably from Scandinavian; compare Swedish dialect klumsig numb

Example Sentences

That was the same tactic, with clumsy implementation, that the super PAC employed earlier in the election cycle.

From Salon

This was sensible thinking, especially in light of Google’s endlessly clumsy A.I. foibles and Meta’s horrific misinformation crisis.

From Slate

Brendan O'Carroll, the Irish star of BBC One sitcom Mrs Brown's Boys, has apologised for making a "clumsy" joke where a "racial term was implied" during rehearsals for the series' upcoming Christmas special.

From BBC

O'Carroll, who is also the show's creator, said he had made a "clumsy attempt at a joke" during a read-through of the scripts, where he was in character as Agnes Brown.

From BBC

Tina McKenzie, policy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses suggested that the new bill was a "rushed job, clumsy, chaotic and poorly planned".

From BBC

Related Words

• bulky
• heavy-handed
• inept
• ponderous
• ungainly
• unwieldy