1
as in awkward
lacking or showing a lack of nimbleness in using one's hands
diamond cutting is no job for a clumsy person
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in uncoordinated
having or showing an inability to move in a graceful manner
a clumsy bow clumsy on the dance floor
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3
as in uncomfortable
lacking social grace and assurance
felt clumsy in the unfamiliar uniform
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4
as in inexperienced
showing or marked by a lack of skill and tact (as in dealing with a situation)
a clumsy joke
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5
as in cumbersome
difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
a clumsy contraption, but it got the job done
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6
as in rude
hastily or roughly constructed
a clumsy mock-up of the real thing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clumsy
An exceptionally clumsy device.
—
Mark Phelan, Freep.com, 23 Oct. 2025
In the first clip, clumsy lightning cascades out of a cloud and moves across the water and into my feed.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2025
Arturs Silovs looked a bit clumsy in the first period and his rebound control was less than stellar.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
There had to be an element of her that was sort of clumsy.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clumsy
Mark Phelan, Freep.com, 23 Oct. 2025
In the first clip, clumsy lightning cascades out of a cloud and moves across the water and into my feed.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2025
Arturs Silovs looked a bit clumsy in the first period and his rebound control was less than stellar.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
There had to be an element of her that was sort of clumsy.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clumsy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clumsy
Adjective
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Insert one very awkward stalemate between the pair here.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
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Lisa Frankenstein centers on awkward and antisocial high schooler Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) after the violent demise of her mother.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Unfortunately, the Pentagon’s decision appears uncoordinated and directly at odds with the President’s strategy.—
Anne Flaherty,
ABC News,
29 Oct. 2025
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This can lead to problems such as weakness, muscle tension, and uncoordinated voiding that can cause issues like incontinence, urgency, and frequent urinary tract infections.—
Maggie O'Neill,
Verywell Health,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Whether the show is about light slowly creeping in on the longest night or an uncomfortable journey someplace, somewhere, marching bands have only eight minutes to get through to each person’s soul.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 Oct. 2025
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During an organized ghost-hunt weekend in 2018, the 41-year-old Connecticut resident was already feeling uncomfortable during the group’s exploration in the city’s historic downtown of the building that housed the Moon River Brewing Company, which has since closed.—
Aaron Sagers,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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So any expansion to what is already a very archaic, cumbersome system will be very hard on small business owners in Michigan.—
Keith Matheny,
Freep.com,
30 Oct. 2025
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However, with cloud environments constantly evolving, manually checking each requirement quickly becomes cumbersome.—
Daniel Fusch,
Ascend Agency,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Combined with not intervening too often, this will minimize the number of rude responses.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
29 Oct. 2025
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Basil, of course, is far from perfect, a rude, neurotic, accident-prone manager who insults guests, hides his gambling winnings from his wife and organizes an elaborate impersonation of her when his surprise anniversary party backfires.—
Rhett Bartlett,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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All loads easier than wrangling an ungainly bird half the table doesn’t really much care for anyway (what?—
Shilpa Uskokovic,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
31 Oct. 2025
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When her rival, Poot’s Thea, arrives underdressed, Hedda forces her into a hideous frock with fussy bows and an ungainly skirt.—
Amy Nicholson,
Twin Cities,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Across its run, The Witcher has traced the uneasy bond between Geralt of Rivia (Liam Hemsworth), the monster hunter bound by destiny; Ciri (Freya Allan), the princess whose power could save or destroy worlds; and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), the sorceress torn between ambition and love.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
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In the Odyssey, Homer depicts Helen and Menelaus’s reunion as uneasy and sometimes tearful, after years of estrangement.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Despite the game’s unwieldy duration, 8 million people were still tuned in to Fox when Freeman’s bat finally called it a night.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
30 Oct. 2025
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A lot of what is unwieldy about Down Cemetery Road stems from the source novel, which predates the Slough House series and showcases a writer with an exceptional gift for dialogue and characterization but a more nascent sense of rudimentary storytelling.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clumsy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clumsy. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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