clumsy
/ˈklʌmzi
/adjective (clumsier, clumsiest)
1Awkward in movement or in handling things: the cold made his fingers clumsy...
- He is an awkward, clumsy boy in the community.
- As it rocks from side to side, a walking penguin may look clumsy, but its movements are actually quite efficient.
- The girls were running and giggling at the same time, making them clumsy in their movements and me even angrier.
1.1Done awkwardly or without skill: a very clumsy attempt to park...
- This was a clumsy amateurish attempt by two students.
- ‘Being a hippy’ was just a clumsy attempt to give expression to those moments of spirituality he had experienced since childhood.
- This clumsy attempt at democracy has soured the population.
1.2Difficult to handle or use; unwieldy: clumsy devices the legal procedure is far too clumsy...
- They were difficult to conceal, clumsy, expensive to manufacture, and required bulky ammunition which created stowage and logistics problems.
- It looked and felt so clumsy, so unwieldy, so…… artificial.
- The reason seems to be that they are clumsy and difficult to manoeuvre.
Synonyms
unwieldy, unmanageable, cumbersome, bulky, hulking, heavy, solid, awkward, unmanoeuvrable
1.3Lacking social skills; tactless: his choice of words was clumsy...
- Eventually, I made our excuses and took her home, worried that I had ruined yet another woman's life with my clumsy social skills.
- I was far too clumsy in social situations to attempt a visit, not even to apologize for something that had been plaguing me with guilt all day.
- But, at the heart of this argument, I have reached the conclusion that I'm a slightly clumsy, rather ineffectual speaker.
Synonyms
gauche, awkward, graceless, unpolished, unsubtle, crude, uncouth, boorish, crass;
tactless, insensitive, thoughtless, inconsiderate, undiplomatic, indelicate, impolitic, injudicious, ill-judged
Origin
Late 16th century: from obsolete clumse 'make or be numb', probably of Scandinavian origin and related to Swedish klumsig.