unwieldy

Or un·wield·ly

[uhn-weel-dee]

adjective

unwieldier, unwieldiest 

1. not wieldy; wielded with difficulty; not readily handled or managed in use or action, as from size, shape, or weight; awkward; ungainly.

   Synonyms: clumsy, unmanageable, bulky

unwieldy

/ ʌnˈwiːldɪ /

adjective

1. too heavy, large, or awkwardly shaped to be easily handled

2. ungainly; clumsy

Other Word Forms

• unwieldily adverb
• unwieldiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unwieldy¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, unwieldy is from the Middle English word unweldy. See un- ¹, wieldy

Example Sentences

However, the ease of stacking up multiple small loans simultaneously can make the overall debt unwieldy, Schulz said, especially for new or financially strained users.

Read more on MarketWatch

Critics say the technology is still too unwieldy to be used for automated cyber attacks.

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“The Queen of Versailles” has grown tighter since its tryout last summer at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre, but it’s still an unwieldy operation despite the impeccable showmanship of Michael Arden’s direction.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

For Sachs, who typically directs muted, human dramas, the unwieldy relationships and relatively large scale of 2023’s “Passages” had him looking for a smaller project to do next.

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The EPP sits atop an unwieldy coalition of these three factions, designed to freeze out parties of the insurgent right that did well in last year’s European Parliament elections.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• burdensome 
• clumsy 
• cumbersome 
• inconvenient 
• massive 
• onerous 
• ponderous 
• ungainly 
• unmanageable