unwieldy
adjective
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The Difference Between Wieldy and Unwieldy
The verb to wield means "to handle or exert something effectively." A carpenter might wield a hammer with impressive dexterity, for example, or a talented orator might wield influence over an audience of listeners. Something that is "wieldy" is capable of being wielded easily, and while that adjective may not be particularly common, its antonym "unwieldy" finds ample use to describe anything that is awkward to handle, move, or manage. "Wield" and its relatives all derive via Middle English from Old English wieldan, meaning "to control."
Examples of unwieldy in a Sentence
Michelle Mastro, Architectural Digest, 23 Oct. 2025
Education Department officials blame the prior administration for the unwieldy state of the federal student loan system.
—Danielle Douglas-Gabriel The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2025
Each of these varied forms, when understood as a solution to Euler’s equations, is mathematically distinct and terribly unwieldy.
—Joseph Howlett, Quanta Magazine, 15 Oct. 2025
Democrats, however, blasted Earle-Sears’s constant interruptions during the debate as unwieldy.
—Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unwieldy
Cite this Entry
“Unwieldy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unwieldy. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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unwieldy
adjective
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