as in clumsy
difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
an unwieldy machine that requires two people to operate it
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unwieldy
Loyalty programs have become operationally unwieldy, and the financial consequences are rarely discussed openly.
—
Gary Drenik,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
For large, unwieldy laundry, wash it on the bulky setting.
—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
9 June 2026
Although the novel’s center does not quite hold, O’Farrell’s emotional intelligence — the heart and heat of her characters — braces this sometimes unwieldy chronicle of a nation that has been subject to cumbrous historic agonies.
—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
Weihl is dealing with heady concepts here, and at this crucial point—the project’s de facto mission statement—they’re too unwieldy, pushing her down cryptic dead-end roads.
—
Raphael Helfand,
Pitchfork,
29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for unwieldy
Gary Drenik,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
For large, unwieldy laundry, wash it on the bulky setting.
—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
9 June 2026
Although the novel’s center does not quite hold, O’Farrell’s emotional intelligence — the heart and heat of her characters — braces this sometimes unwieldy chronicle of a nation that has been subject to cumbrous historic agonies.
—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
Weihl is dealing with heady concepts here, and at this crucial point—the project’s de facto mission statement—they’re too unwieldy, pushing her down cryptic dead-end roads.
—
Raphael Helfand,
Pitchfork,
29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for unwieldy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwieldy
Adjective
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This has, in many cases, led to some clumsy looking solutions at venues across North America.
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An early furor over accepting valuable gifts, including designer spectacles and Taylor Swift concert tickets, was followed by a series of policy U-turns, especially clumsy attempts to cut welfare spending that stirred anger in Labour ranks.
Adjective
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Your 2nd House of Finances hits an awkward angle as the nurturing Moon quincunxes ambitious Mars in your 9th House of Travel and Learning.
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But that doesn’t mean there still aren’t some awkward moments.
Adjective
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Those habits feel cumbersome when a technology is evolving by the month.
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That tendency, which may have been with us since the Stone Age, today serves the interests of our cumbersome friends in the Florida Everglades.
Adjective
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Instead of an ungainly pile of pillows, modern buyers prefer to let the materials sing.
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Seydoux tromps through the film with a masculine heaviness — a sense of dysphoria that translates to her character’s ungainly bearing.
Adjective
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Those clunky portable units do ease discomfort, at least; another widely available air-conditioning option, known as a split unit, is typically more efficient, but also more expensive and harder to install.
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This solution is a clunky eyesore; resembling a cushion, gym mat and tarp meshed into one.
Cite this Entry
“Unwieldy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwieldy. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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