clumsy

[ kluhm-zee ]

/ ˈklʌm zi /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR clumsy 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.

Words nearby clumsy

cluj, cluj-napoca, clumber spaniel, clump, clumping, clumsy, clunes, clung, cluniac, clunk, clunker

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

SYNONYMS FOR clumsy

1 ungraceful, ungainly, lumbering, lubberly.

2 unhandy, unskillful, maladroit, inexpert, bungling, bumbling, heavy-handed, inept.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR clumsy ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR clumsy

2 adroit, skillful.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR clumsy ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM clumsy

clum·si·ly, adverbclum·si·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for clumsily

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
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
I thought about the 9mm in my purse as I clumsily continued down the stairs in my skirt and heels.
‘Stupid,’ ‘Immoral,’ ‘Dangerous,’ ‘Coward’: My Month With a Gun|Heidi Yewman|July 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
First, he clumsily inserts nakedly political posturing that seems altogether out-of-place in the context of the High Holy Days.
Obama's Rosh Hashanah Gaffes|Michael Medved|September 29, 2011|DAILY BEAST

It already tried, clumsily, this year with Google Buzz, which immediately out of the gate was hit with massive privacy complaints.
Facebook's New Battle With Google|David Kirkpatrick|November 15, 2010|DAILY BEAST
He brought a towel back with him and staunched the flow of blood from the leg with a clumsily fashioned bandage.
Across the Mesa|Jarvis Hall
Though the paragraph in question be clumsily expressed, yet it strictly announces its own intentions.
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson
The Chukch drawings too are roughly and clumsily executed, but many of them exhibit a certain power of hitting off the object.
The Voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe, Volume I and Volume II|A.E. Nordenskieold
She leaned back, pushing with both hands against his chest; but he swept her irresistibly up to him and kissed her clumsily.
The Happy End|Joseph Hergesheimer
These children were, almost of necessity, clumsily brought up.
The Price of Love|Arnold Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for clumsily

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