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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Recent Examples of clunky
Kia retained clunky flat-panel HVAC/audio controls that require you to push a small icon of a fan or a triangle to switch an adjoining set of flat touch points from climate to audio functions and vice versa.
—
Mark Phelan, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2025
The story is pretty great too, and the gameplay, while sometimes a bit clunky, is still very fun.
—Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Kia retained clunky flat-panel HVAC/audio controls that require you to push a small icon of a fan or a triangle to switch an adjoining set of flat touch points from climate to audio functions and vice versa.
—Mark Phelan, Freep.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Gone are the days of lugging a clunky vacuum around the house to do your chores.
—Clara McMahon, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clunky
Mark Phelan, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2025
The story is pretty great too, and the gameplay, while sometimes a bit clunky, is still very fun.
—Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Kia retained clunky flat-panel HVAC/audio controls that require you to push a small icon of a fan or a triangle to switch an adjoining set of flat touch points from climate to audio functions and vice versa.
—Mark Phelan, Freep.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Gone are the days of lugging a clunky vacuum around the house to do your chores.
—Clara McMahon, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clunky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clunky
Adjective
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The rubber sole is also important for clumsy gals like myself.—
Alyssa Grabinski,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
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Camels seem slow, hippos clumsy, phoenixes unstable, lions lazy.—
Francois Botha,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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While there is little doubt about the outcome of the Fed meeting, there are still questions over who exactly will be voting—setting up some very awkward dynamics.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
14 Sep. 2025
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This leaves the broader discourse around Kirk’s assassination in an awkward position, deprived of the certainty that so many crave.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The result is slow, siloed and cumbersome for all parties involved.—
Jason Truppi,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
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Kazlauskas told Ars that about 300 users can be added each day due to the cumbersome and allegedly shifting process for porting over data.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Arafat led the Fatah movement and was the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, a sometimes unwieldy umbrella group of various Palestinian factions, ranging from outright Marxist to avowedly Islamist and everything in between.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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Now, Russia’s and Ukraine’s Soviet-era tanks rumble across the battlefield covered in anti-drone nets and spikes, dangling chains and unwieldy cages.—
Marco Hernandez,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clunky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clunky. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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