clumsy

[ kluhm-zee ]

See synonyms for: clumsy clumsily clumsiness on Thesaurus.com

adjective,clum·si·er, clum·si·est.

awkward in movement or action; without skill or grace: He is very clumsy and is always breaking things.
awkwardly done or made; unwieldy; ill-contrived: He made a clumsy, embarrassed apology.

Origin of clumsy

1590–1600; clums benumbed with cold (now obsolete) + -y¹; akin to Middle English clumsen to be stiff with cold, dialectal Swedish klumsig benumbed, awkward, klums numbskull, Old Norse klumsa lockjaw. See clam²

Other words for clumsy

1	ungraceful, ungainly, lumbering, lubberly
2	unhandy, unskillful, maladroit, inexpert, bungling, bumbling, heavy-handed, inept

See synonyms for clumsy on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for clumsy

2	adroit, skillful

See antonyms for clumsy on Thesaurus.com

Other words from clumsy

clum·si·ly, adverb
clum·si·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use clumsy in a sentence

More clumsily, fireworks stand in for the Big Bang and a potato and peas are invoked to explain relativity.
Why Can’t Movies Capture Genius? | Clive Irving | December 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He clumsily sipped from the dainty straw of a blasphemously non-bourbon beverage and smiled broadly as he talked to fellow bros.
Mitch’s Brotastic Victory Bash | Olivia Nuzzi | November 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Bruder, who teaches at Western Carolina University, says the techniques in The Flames of War often are handled clumsily.
How ISIS Ripped Off ‘Natural Born Killers' | Jamie Dettmer | September 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Schaeffer is at least trying, if somewhat clumsily, to put them into conversation.
Frank Schaeffer, the Atheist Who Believes in God | Nick Tabor | August 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
After firing that off, he clumsily asked what a plantation mentality is.
Donald Sterling’s Insane Attempt at Damage Control Fails Miserably | Nina Strochlic | May 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

Talpers sought to detain him, but the Chinese hurried back to his old white horse and climbed clumsily into the saddle.
Mystery Ranch | Arthur Chapman
Meanwhile the old lady climbed not without difficulty up the rough, clumsily built staircase, with a rope by way of a hand-rail.
An Episode Under the Terror | Honore de Balzac
Before she could answer, he had actually blushed, wheeled clumsily, and gone hastily back.
The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
He took the battered volume—a pamphlet clumsily encased in boards, and drew his hand across its rough sides caressingly.
A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith Nicholson
Astonished at the splendor of her diamonds, he had in his own court clumsily asked if they were all real.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte | William Milligan Sloane

British Dictionary definitions for clumsy

clumsy

/ (ˈklʌmzɪ) /

adjective-sier or -siest

lacking in skill or physical coordination
awkwardly constructed or contrived

Origin of clumsy

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

Derived forms of clumsy

clumsily, adverb
clumsiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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