as in inexperience
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Recent Examples of clumsiness
In January 2024, Lola was diagnosed with leukemia after her parents initially mistook bruises appearing across her body for childhood clumsiness.
—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
25 May 2026
The tree, which graces a botanical garden, bears patient witness to all manner of human clumsiness.
—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
For Perssonatti, the disease is more about fatigue, brain fog, word salad, and clumsiness.
—
Pamela McLoughlin,
Hartford Courant,
10 Mar. 2026
The desire for more speed also demonstrated some of the internal clumsiness Weiss and her close inner circle have lamented on the technical side.
—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
2 Mar. 2026
This wouldn't come from a place of hostility, but due to his clumsiness and trailing tail.
—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
27 Feb. 2026
Technology is closing that gap, not through virtue, but through clumsiness.
—
Dr. Aditya Vikram Kashyap,
Forbes.com,
25 Feb. 2026
O’Hara sinks into the role, embracing the inherent clumsiness of community theater while celebrating its flaws.
—
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
On immigration enforcement—Trump’s signature issue—the brutality and clumsiness of the mass-deportation campaign has decreased public support for the president’s agenda and increased the number of Americans who strongly disapprove of ICE.
—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
20 Jan. 2026
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
25 May 2026
The tree, which graces a botanical garden, bears patient witness to all manner of human clumsiness.
—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
For Perssonatti, the disease is more about fatigue, brain fog, word salad, and clumsiness.
—
Pamela McLoughlin,
Hartford Courant,
10 Mar. 2026
The desire for more speed also demonstrated some of the internal clumsiness Weiss and her close inner circle have lamented on the technical side.
—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
2 Mar. 2026
This wouldn't come from a place of hostility, but due to his clumsiness and trailing tail.
—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
27 Feb. 2026
Technology is closing that gap, not through virtue, but through clumsiness.
—
Dr. Aditya Vikram Kashyap,
Forbes.com,
25 Feb. 2026
O’Hara sinks into the role, embracing the inherent clumsiness of community theater while celebrating its flaws.
—
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
On immigration enforcement—Trump’s signature issue—the brutality and clumsiness of the mass-deportation campaign has decreased public support for the president’s agenda and increased the number of Americans who strongly disapprove of ICE.
—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
20 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clumsiness
Noun
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Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips, two defensive tackles who cut their teeth as starters in their rookie season, can’t blame this upcoming season’s struggles on youth and inexperience because last year’s playing time was an investment made with the intention of speeding up their development.
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Most founder overwhelm is just inexperience without context.
Noun
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Life has always penalized unpreparedness and lack of diligence.
-
These surrenders might occur because of unpreparedness or life changes.
Noun
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There’s some rudeness, aggressive conversations, and crudeness, but nothing too over the top.
Noun
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In it, the author described a culture of confusion, stress, and incompetence, as contractors competed for work to be completed under near-impossible deadlines.
-
The most serious charges — which included incompetence, negligence and failure of duty — were dismissed.
Noun
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This journalistic cynicism amid government ham-handedness shattered something precious too.
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Only when Bouzid deals with the repercussions of homophobic Tunisian laws does the melodrama tip into ham-handedness.
Noun
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Federal agents have descended upon the home of Cindy Rodriguez Singh, the North Texas mom who was recently sent to a state hospital after an incompetency ruling in the murder of her young son.
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The longer the delay, the more the system risks turning temporary incompetency into long-term confinement.
Noun
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This move follows a successful loan spell at Monaco and his inability to impress new coach Hansi Flick.
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The ripple effect of food insecurity around the world from Ukraine’s inability to ship its normally massive grain crops.
Cite this Entry
“Clumsiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clumsiness. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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