as in clumsy
lacking or showing a lack of nimbleness in using one's hands
that's a ham-fisted paint job if I ever saw one
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Recent Examples of ham-fisted
And some obvious references to the Garden of Eden with a woman named Eve searching for her truth are ham-fisted, but also a hallmark of the genre.
—
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 5 June 2025
The bill could not have been better designed to violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause; as a law school practice problem, it would have been considered a little ham-fisted.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 27 May 2025
At the same time, this might also be the most ham-fisted.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2025
Musk’s tactics are ham-fisted, but the bottom line in ensuring the country’s bottom line is sound, is a good one and worth pursuing.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 25 Feb. 2025
Merz’s gambit, though ham-fisted, was a recognition that rebuilding public trust around migration policy will be key to the next government’s success.
—Ido Vock, TIME, 22 Feb. 2025
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 5 June 2025
The bill could not have been better designed to violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause; as a law school practice problem, it would have been considered a little ham-fisted.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 27 May 2025
At the same time, this might also be the most ham-fisted.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2025
Musk’s tactics are ham-fisted, but the bottom line in ensuring the country’s bottom line is sound, is a good one and worth pursuing.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 25 Feb. 2025
Merz’s gambit, though ham-fisted, was a recognition that rebuilding public trust around migration policy will be key to the next government’s success.
—Ido Vock, TIME, 22 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ham-fisted
Adjective
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That makes the killers kind of human and fallible and clumsy, and these movies get a lot of mileage out of the slapstick shenanigans of their slasher chases.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
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Then, however, Phillips was sent off four minutes into the second half for a clumsy lunge at Svante Ingelsson, and suddenly Wednesday believed.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
When cutting food, holding the meat with the fork in an awkward vertical position.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
23 Feb. 2026
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Other awkward—and more viral—moments included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stealing the spotlight from Modi by refusing to hold hands for a photo op designed to be a show of unity and triumph.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ham-fisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ham-fisted. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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