1
as in awkward
lacking or showing a lack of nimbleness in using one's hands
diamond cutting is no job for a clumsy person
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2
as in uncoordinated
having or showing an inability to move in a graceful manner
a clumsy bow clumsy on the dance floor
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3
as in uncomfortable
lacking social grace and assurance
felt clumsy in the unfamiliar uniform
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4
as in inexperienced
showing or marked by a lack of skill and tact (as in dealing with a situation)
a clumsy joke
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5
as in cumbersome
difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
a clumsy contraption, but it got the job done
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6
as in rude
hastily or roughly constructed
a clumsy mock-up of the real thing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clumsy
The nation’s early spy satellites, which relied on photographic film, were slow, clumsy and wasteful.
—
William J. Broad, New York Times, 19 May 2025
Herbert includes a range of moments, from earnest attempts to talk about the enslaved people that maintained all these palatial homes to clumsier ones in which they are referred to as workers, insinuating that their labor was paid for instead of forced.
—Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 20 June 2025
The aftermath of Virginia’s clumsy tumble into a rose bed where her exposed cleavage is profusely pricked by thorns lasts for all of one scene.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 16 June 2025
Improvement among the Chiefs’ AFC West rivals, a clumsy bunch in most recent years, will add to K.C. strain and argues against Reid’s club matching its 5-1 intradivisonal record of last year (the only loss was a meaningless blowout at Denver, after K.C. locked up the No. 1 seed).
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for clumsy
William J. Broad, New York Times, 19 May 2025
Herbert includes a range of moments, from earnest attempts to talk about the enslaved people that maintained all these palatial homes to clumsier ones in which they are referred to as workers, insinuating that their labor was paid for instead of forced.
—Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 20 June 2025
The aftermath of Virginia’s clumsy tumble into a rose bed where her exposed cleavage is profusely pricked by thorns lasts for all of one scene.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 16 June 2025
Improvement among the Chiefs’ AFC West rivals, a clumsy bunch in most recent years, will add to K.C. strain and argues against Reid’s club matching its 5-1 intradivisonal record of last year (the only loss was a meaningless blowout at Denver, after K.C. locked up the No. 1 seed).
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for clumsy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clumsy
Adjective
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The house was a little awkward and needed some work, including in the living room, which had a mix of original wood flooring and vinyl.—
Thomas Fuller,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
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Yet that has led to an awkward UX for those who lean into portrait mode.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
Adjective
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This event was uncoordinated and did not occur on school grounds.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 June 2025
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But every song felt uncoordinated, like the band could have spent a few more hours in rehearsal.—
Julius Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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But the odd tone of their recent fight when Miranda comments on Carrie’s flirtation with her writer neighbor Duncan (Jonathan Cake) is uncomfortable.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
23 July 2025
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For marketers, this is both exciting and uncomfortable.—
Francesca Pezzoli,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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Developers have complained for years that the city’s cumbersome construction permitting process takes far too long, adding costs to projects.—
John Aguilar,
Denver Post,
22 July 2025
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The best thing of all are the performances of early American folk songs that the two men record on cumbersome equipment.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
21 July 2025
Adjective
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Most commenters support the original poster, writing that the aunt and uncle are the rude people in this situation.—
Sabrina Weiss,
People.com,
10 July 2025
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Stand up to anyone who bullies you, and call people out who are rude or behaving badly.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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The official title is technically F1®: The Movie, an ungainly, trademarked reminder of both the brand the film was made in conjunction with, and the fact that that brand is so big that this $200-300 million Hollywood production is a blip in comparison.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
26 June 2025
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The cornerstones of maps’ data pools are satellite images and a tireless fleet of Street View cars that roam with ungainly camera hats, constantly refreshing neighborhood-level detail.—
Sonya Bennett-Brandt,
AFAR Media,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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Pico’s other headsets are not sold in North America and ByteDance and the Trump administration have an uneasy relationship at best.—
Chris Morris,
Fortune,
15 July 2025
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The carpenters’ stance has created a split in the labor movement that makes lawmakers uneasy and sometimes spills into public view.—
CalMatters,
Mercury News,
13 July 2025
Adjective
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The difficulty comes with the 2-in-1 capability, where the laptop's large screen becomes a downright unwieldy tablet.—
Brian Westover,
PC Magazine,
17 July 2025
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From some perspectives, that expansion is revolutionary; recent studies have found that AI has the potential to provide more accurate medical diagnoses and help make sense of complex and unwieldy data.—
Julia Sullivan,
USA Today,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clumsy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clumsy. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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