as in clumsy
lacking or showing a lack of nimbleness in using one's hands
much too ham-handed to use one of those tiny cell phones
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ham-handed
Adjective
-
McGee meets one of a clumsy TURF intern Pete, who is revealed to be Olivia's 18-year-old son, Matteo (Patrick Keleher) under interrogation.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
18 Mar. 2026 -
Actors from Reiner’s movies gathered onstage — although the camera didn’t catch their faces, a sadly clumsy gaffe.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
From historic wins, like the first woman to win for cinematography and seventh-ever Oscar tie, to awkward silences to moving tributes and very, very long bits from host Conan O’Brien, the March 15 ceremony was emotional and eventful.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
16 Mar. 2026
-
During the acceptance speech for Two People Exchanging Saliva, an awkward moment occurred when the microphone started to descend and the camera shifted to host Conan O'Brien, who was still waiting for the speeches to end.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Mar. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Ham-handed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ham-handed. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
