ham-handed

American  

[ham-han-did] / ˈhæmˈhæn dɪd /

especially British, ham-fisted

adjective

1. clumsy, inept, or heavy-handed.

   a ham-handed approach to dealing with people that hurts a lot of feelings.

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Other Word Forms

• hamhandedness noun

Etymology

Origin of ham-handed

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

Governments will be tempted by ham-handed policy responses.

From The Wall Street Journal

Calling on allies to “step up” after ridiculing them was “ham-handed,” Radd said.

From Los Angeles Times

Last month, following a ham-handed government attempt to ban most social-media apps, thousands of young protesters took to the streets of Kathmandu, the capital.

From The Wall Street Journal

Obama, a Harvard alum, described the freeze as "unlawful and ham-handed".

From BBC

While the film’s execution seems expert on the surface, the internal narrative design is unfortunately ham-handed and woefully dull.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bulky
• heavy-handed
• inept
• ponderous
• ungainly
• unwieldy