as in ineptly
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Recent Examples of clumsily
Many of the new changes in this version are clumsily presented.
—
Frank Rizzo, Variety, 23 Apr. 2026
There are flying cars held at bay by the power of telekenesis and Park teleporting, as the crew clumsily accept their new ‘hero’ roles and attempt to take on the villains threatening the peace of Haeseong City.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 22 Apr. 2026
This caused an already off-balance Adebayo to fall clumsily to the ground and land directly on his tailbone.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 17 Apr. 2026
And knitting meant clumsily looping a strand of acrylic yarn onto the tip of a bamboo needle, groaning, then handing the project to my mother for help.
—Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
In the Connecticut cases, as well as hundreds of similar cases around the country, the lawyers used software that produced what appeared to be somewhat clumsily written but otherwise solid legal briefs.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 1 Mar. 2026
Straight and gay pornography was aired, albeit clumsily censored by the network.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2026
As for the fifth dimension, China’s power is having a corrosive effect on democracies, including in the United States, which has clumsily adopted measures that resemble the CCP’s mercenary mercantilism.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Others saw a guy clumsily expressing sincere commitment.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2025
Frank Rizzo, Variety, 23 Apr. 2026
There are flying cars held at bay by the power of telekenesis and Park teleporting, as the crew clumsily accept their new ‘hero’ roles and attempt to take on the villains threatening the peace of Haeseong City.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 22 Apr. 2026
This caused an already off-balance Adebayo to fall clumsily to the ground and land directly on his tailbone.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 17 Apr. 2026
And knitting meant clumsily looping a strand of acrylic yarn onto the tip of a bamboo needle, groaning, then handing the project to my mother for help.
—Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
In the Connecticut cases, as well as hundreds of similar cases around the country, the lawyers used software that produced what appeared to be somewhat clumsily written but otherwise solid legal briefs.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 1 Mar. 2026
Straight and gay pornography was aired, albeit clumsily censored by the network.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2026
As for the fifth dimension, China’s power is having a corrosive effect on democracies, including in the United States, which has clumsily adopted measures that resemble the CCP’s mercenary mercantilism.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Others saw a guy clumsily expressing sincere commitment.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clumsily
Adverb
-
The collapse of the Constitution’s balance of powers between three branches of government got us into an unneeded war conducted ineptly.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Dancing the Poznan really ineptly, mind you, but dancing nonetheless.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
8 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Then Anthony Edwards — already hampered by his right knee — leapt to contest a Cam Johnson layup and came down super awkwardly on his left knee, leaving the game.—
Alex Kirshner,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Seconds after tipoff, White awkwardly collided with an Adem Bona screen while pursuing Maxey.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
25 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
There is no need to laboriously clean and sand the walls before priming, per Johnson.—
Lee Wallender,
The Spruce,
29 Dec. 2025
-
With buckets and mops, Palestinians laboriously scooped water out of their tents.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
12 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
The team sequenced the DNA of 38 different mosquitoes belonging to 11 species within the Leucosphyrus group, which had been arduously collected during fieldwork between 1992 and 2020 across Southeast Asia.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
11 Mar. 2026
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The first year back from knee reconstruction is a tough one, and by all accounts, Darrisaw beat the timetable projection by arduously and relentlessly working through his rehab.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clumsily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clumsily. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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