as in clumsy
difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design even my five-year-old laptop seems clunky next to some of the really slim new models

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of clunky While speedy banter works for those who are likable, Jack, Geneviève and Cheyenne are such grating personalities that the entire series feels clunky, as if the audience is being held hostage in this world instead of welcomed into it. Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 23 Apr. 2025 The scenes here are clunky and don’t always move the story along — there’s an aimless but moderately funny one of Wolff speed dating. Jake Coyle, Twin Cities, 24 Apr. 2025 Chelsea were awful in the first 45 minutes, their passive pressing and clunky mechanical passing ceding the initiative to a forceful Fulham before giving up a startlingly soft goal. Liam Twomey, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2025 High-end, clunky and difficult to operate, the Imax camera allowed astronauts to bring the art form of cinematography to space and back home. Lillian Ali, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for clunky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clunky
Adjective
  • Where the real Colin and Emma have trouble getting much further than a clumsy hug after a putt-putt date, some of the acting couples have increased their intimacy levels with breathtaking speed.
    Scott Tobias, Vulture, 12 May 2025
  • Word's document comparison interface is also clumsy and confusing compared with FineReader's.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • There was an awkward overhead in the third game that Sinner couldn’t meet square on.
    Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 13 May 2025
  • Last month, the couple caught some criticism after their awkward CBS News appearance.
    Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 12 May 2025
Adjective
  • The development partnership, the Vets Collective, relied on tax credit financing, a cumbersome process that not only can add years to a project but also only funds housing.
    Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025
  • My cumbersome climbing gear rests, along with everyone else’s, on a tarp.
    Michael Ray Taylor, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 May 2025
Adjective
  • Unlike its larger counterparts that may feel unwieldy within the confines of the hallowed relish tray, the little forks are just the right size for daintily placing in small bowls of various pickled delights, from okra to onions, or nestling alongside the crudités.
    Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 10 May 2025
  • Comment By necessity of its ambitious and sometimes unwieldy four-seasons-in-one structure, the second season of Andor has developed, at its midway point, a complex relationship with time.
    Jesse Hassenger, Vulture, 7 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Clunky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clunky. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

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