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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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
Unless your relationship with your parents is particularly strained or toxic, which might be the case, there’s a good chance each party is approaching parenting with love—even when their attempts might be clumsy or awkward.
—
Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 3 July 2025
Dream plays are difficult to execute—whimsy is easily crushed by clumsy handling.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 25 July 2025
Despite a clumsy apology tour, Hogan was never able to completely shake his darkest moment.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
He’s tried shaking things up before with the clumsy Afropunk flurries of 2015’s Cherry Bomb.
—Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for clumsy
Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 3 July 2025
Dream plays are difficult to execute—whimsy is easily crushed by clumsy handling.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 25 July 2025
Despite a clumsy apology tour, Hogan was never able to completely shake his darkest moment.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
He’s tried shaking things up before with the clumsy Afropunk flurries of 2015’s Cherry Bomb.
—Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for clumsy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clumsy
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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Moreover, uncoordinated attacks, often by motivated individuals acting on their own, can still occur, as has happened in Israel since 2023.—
DANIEL BYMAN,
Foreign Affairs,
28 July 2025
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In my experience, a single, properly underwritten advance is almost always safer and more sustainable than several uncoordinated ones.—
Raymond Grand,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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Removing 55 books the governor’s political party is uncomfortable with is not ethical or legal.—
Robert Kesten,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 Aug. 2025
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Less Strain: Reaching over your child’s car seat can be uncomfortable and awkward.—
Laura Lu,
Parents,
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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Think scarf head coverings for women in Catholic churches, shoe removal for all to enter a mosque, yarmulkes required for men in synagogues, but also pay attention to the cultural norms away from houses of worship and behave accordingly to avoid being considered a rude American.—
Jenny Peters,
Oc Register,
4 Aug. 2025
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The Reddit community nearly unanimously branded the boyfriend as rude and tone-deaf.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
3 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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The United States and China have settled into a steady state of pragmatic, if uneasy, détente.—
Phil Mattingly,
CNN Money,
13 Aug. 2025
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Reading Zeller’s book, I was reminded that there is a kind of uneasy fellowship in this condition—a vast, involuntary community of people mapping out their lives between attacks, haunted by uncertainty but sustained in part by accounts like his.—
Jerome Groopman,
New Yorker,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Kennedy points out that these knowledge structures can become unwieldy.—
Hessie Jones,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
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In addition, one-way puzzles generate keys that are too unwieldy to actually open locks.—
Ben Brubaker,
Quanta Magazine,
25 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clumsy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clumsy. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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