clumsy

[ kluhm-zee ]

/ ˈklʌm zi /

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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.

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

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QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

true

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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 FROM clumsy

clum·si·ly, adverbclum·si·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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|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|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|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|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|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

Derived forms of clumsy

clumsily, adverbclumsiness, noun

Word Origin for 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

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

clumsy

OTHER WORDS FOR clumsy

OPPOSITES FOR clumsy

Origin of clumsy

OTHER WORDS FROM clumsy

Words related to clumsy

How to use clumsy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for clumsy

Derived forms of clumsy

Word Origin for clumsy