maladroit

[ mal-uh-droit ]
See synonyms for: maladroitmaladroitlymaladroitness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. lacking in adroitness; unskillful; awkward; bungling; tactless: to handle a diplomatic crisis in a very maladroit way.

Origin of maladroit

1
First recorded in 1665–75; from French, Middle French: literally “clumsy”; see origin at mal-, adroit

Other words for maladroit

Other words from maladroit

  • mal·a·droit·ly, adverb
  • mal·a·droit·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use maladroit in a sentence

  • The words, taken in a new acceptation, reveal the charming maladroitness of a northern barbarian kneeling before a Roman beauty.

    Charles Baudelaire, His Life | Thophile Gautier
  • Ricasoli had been driven from office by his own maladroitness and Garibaldi's wild, aimless opposition.

    The Life of Mazzini | Bolton King
  • He was playing with the colonel's offering as a child plays with fire, with the same intent face and meddlesome maladroitness.

    Witching Hill | E. W. Hornung
  • There was one old hunter in the stables who loyally carried the young man without taking advantage of his maladroitness.

    Bluebell | Mrs. George Croft Huddleston
  • But it was too late now to engage in the struggle, and the minority was to expiate its doctrinairism and maladroitness.

British Dictionary definitions for maladroit

maladroit

/ (ˌmæləˈdrɔɪt) /


adjective
  1. showing or characterized by clumsiness; not dexterous

  2. tactless and insensitive in behaviour or speech

Origin of maladroit

1
C17: from French, from mal badly + adroit

Derived forms of maladroit

  • maladroitly, adverb
  • maladroitness, 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