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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Recent Examples of unwieldy
The airplane was an unwieldy, twin-engine ex-bomber, retrofitted with fuel tanks where formerly the bombs would have been held.
—
David Rooney
june 5, Literary Hub, 5 June 2025
Adding more throughput is unwieldy and impractical.
—Steve Banker, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
The sateen shell kept cool, and the weight and thickness of this insert were ideal and not too unwieldy, too fluffy or unmanageable.
—Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 30 May 2025
The Strider proved too big, heavy, and unwieldy for his still-developing motor skills.
—The Editors, Outside Online, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for unwieldy
David Rooney
june 5, Literary Hub, 5 June 2025
Adding more throughput is unwieldy and impractical.
—Steve Banker, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
The sateen shell kept cool, and the weight and thickness of this insert were ideal and not too unwieldy, too fluffy or unmanageable.
—Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 30 May 2025
The Strider proved too big, heavy, and unwieldy for his still-developing motor skills.
—The Editors, Outside Online, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for unwieldy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwieldy
Adjective
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Herbert includes a range of moments, from earnest attempts to talk about the enslaved people that maintained all these palatial homes to clumsier ones in which they are referred to as workers, insinuating that their labor was paid for instead of forced.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
20 June 2025
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The aftermath of Virginia’s clumsy tumble into a rose bed where her exposed cleavage is profusely pricked by thorns lasts for all of one scene.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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Regional flashpoints have now put China in an awkward position.—
Wesley Alexander Hill,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
-
At times awkward, but mostly gorgeous, catchy and sincere.—
Darian Sahanaja,
Variety,
15 June 2025
Adjective
-
In-call operations, such as managing state or editing messages, are more cumbersome with audio.—
Arkadiy Telegin,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
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For sharp images, stability is key—but a traditional tripod is cumbersome inside the confines of a safari vehicle.—
Lauren Breedlove,
Travel + Leisure,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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The cornerstones of maps’ data pools are satellite images and a tireless fleet of Street View cars that roam with ungainly camera hats, constantly refreshing neighborhood-level detail.—
Sonya Bennett-Brandt,
AFAR Media,
25 June 2025
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The resulting Cheetah was, frankly, an ungainly machine, more like an oversized four-wheel ATV than a Ford Bronco or Mercedes G-Wagen.—
Will Sabel Courtney,
Robb Report,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
This happens because monoterpenes are clunky molecules full of carbon atoms.—
Max G. Levy,
Smithsonian Magazine,
26 June 2025
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The Maryland product’s fit within the current Pelicans’ team is a clunky one.—
Kambui Bomani,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unwieldy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwieldy. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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