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
-
What resulted is one of the most comic, counterproductive, and clumsy episodes in the long history of British efforts to deal with Ireland.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
29 Oct. 2025
-
So, how did Musk go from a champion of the internet’s go-to reference resource to this clumsy attempt at killing it?—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Frederick Wherry, Kristin Seefeldt, and Anthony Alvarez examine the strategies potential lenders use to make these interactions less awkward.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Talk about awkward reunions at unlikely places, if this does happen.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
26 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ham-fisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ham-fisted. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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