as in clumsy
difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
an unwieldy machine that requires two people to operate it
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unwieldy
Global markets have been focused on one thing this week: the increasingly unwieldy U.S. trade tariffs regime.
—
Jenni Reid,holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 10 July 2025
One year later, officials reversed course and said the opt-out program had become unwieldy and ran counter to values of inclusion.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 27 June 2025
Even the misstep of Top Secret! yielded its share of laughs, despite attempting to hit an unwieldy jumble of parody targets.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2025
Compounding those rising expenses for pet owners can be a deterioration in financial stability, including unwieldy debt burdens, an unexpected (human or animal) medical event, or a job loss.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 27 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unwieldy
Jenni Reid,holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 10 July 2025
One year later, officials reversed course and said the opt-out program had become unwieldy and ran counter to values of inclusion.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 27 June 2025
Even the misstep of Top Secret! yielded its share of laughs, despite attempting to hit an unwieldy jumble of parody targets.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2025
Compounding those rising expenses for pet owners can be a deterioration in financial stability, including unwieldy debt burdens, an unexpected (human or animal) medical event, or a job loss.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 27 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unwieldy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwieldy
Adjective
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Any move to unify systems and say goodbye to clumsy data management couldn't be more crucial—or opportune.—
Charles Crouchman,
Forbes.com,
6 Aug. 2025
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Every summer a disposable camera was tucked into my camp bag, where clumsy photos, often with a thumb peeking in, were snapped with reckless abandon.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
2 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The coming weeks are the slow limp forwards that Putin wants: Tension between Trump and Zelensky first, followed by European pressure on Trump to ease off on Zelensky, followed by awkward and technical stalling over a three-way meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelensky.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
16 Aug. 2025
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Kyler Murray completed seven of his eight passes, with one awkward misread going for a pick: Third-year running back Bam Knight busted out on a 27-yard rush, and his backfield teammate Emari Demercado took a screen pass all the way to the house.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Regardless of the positive potential, humans are quirky and cumbersome – and there is an acute risk of dependency on bots, where humans replace interpersonal relationships with the convenience of artificial companions.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
5 Aug. 2025
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Swapping between the two can be cumbersome and doesn’t always foster fluid combo building.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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What passes for governance is thus an ungainly patchwork of formal and informal institutions.—
Stewart Patrick,
Foreign Affairs,
6 Dec. 2013
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The official title is technically F1®: The Movie, an ungainly, trademarked reminder of both the brand the film was made in conjunction with, and the fact that that brand is so big that this $200-300 million Hollywood production is a blip in comparison.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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Some shoppers found the company’s service clunky and confusing, and the assortment started to feel stale and out of style.—
Gabrielle Fonrouge,
CNBC,
11 Aug. 2025
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The use of four words would be clunky and unwieldy.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
28 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unwieldy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwieldy. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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