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. )

Example Sentences

Clumsiness could trigger more than a diplomatic rebuke from Beijing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2016

Clumsiness apparently runs in Spain’s royal family: at a White House state dinner in 2000, Juan Carlos’s wife, Queen Sofia, tripped in front of Hillary and Bill Clinton.

From Newsweek • Aug. 5, 2012

Q. Mistaking Clumsiness for Domestic Abuse: I have always joked that I misjudge corners, which means I sometimes bang into them, or tables, or doors.

From Slate • Apr. 9, 2012

They after a Time neglected my Questions entirely & when the Son was burnt by his own Clumsiness accus’d me of Meddling.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

In the picture a lean and hungry-looking old woman, Poverty, was seen riding in the lowliest of vehicles, a cart, drawn by two donkeys, Stupidity and Clumsiness, and by two oxen, Negligence and Indolence.

From Caricature and Other Comic Art in all Times and many Lands. by Parton, James