clumsiness

American  

[kluhm-zee-nis] / ˈklʌm zi nɪs /

noun

1. awkwardness or lack of skill or grace in movement or action.

   In spite of their large size and reputed clumsiness, bears are fleet-footed.

2. the fact or quality of being awkwardly done or made, or of being poorly contrived, difficult to use, etc..

   The story wasn't bad, but had moments of clumsiness.

   Despite the winning concept of a phone combined with a gaming console, this version was doomed by the clumsiness of its design.

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Etymology

Origin of clumsiness

First recorded in 1650–60; clumsy ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clumsiness

There’s no harm in that per se, but you’ll have to forgive my irritation with Sudeikis, Lawrence, Hunt and fellow executive producer and showrunner Joe Kelly’s clumsiness with the team’s most complicated working relationship.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026

That song is a clear illustration of the clumsiness that was part of my music back then — and it still is, to some degree.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

She spilled Coke on her sari and figured her clumsiness would doom the engagement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025

We've excluded penalties to show how good United have been at creating and restricting chances themselves, rather than relying on opposition clumsiness or shirt-pulling like they did to score the winner against Burnley.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2025

We see the clumsiness of a small hand manipulating an adult-sized object; the determination to master a challenge we take for granted; the out-of-sync mouth anticipating the sweet, juicy reward.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

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