What is another word for clumsy?

Synonyms for clumsy
ˈklʌm ziclum·sy

This thesaurus page includes all potential synonyms, words with the same meaning and similar terms for the word clumsy.

English Synonyms and Antonyms3.3 / 3 votes

  1. clumsy

    Awkward, from awk (kindred with off, from the Norwegian), is off-ward, turned the wrong way; it was anciently used of a back-handed or left-handed blow in battle, of squinting eyes, etc. Clumsy, on the other hand (from clumse, also through the Norwegian), signifies benumbed, stiffened with cold; this is the original meaning of clumsy fingers, clumsy limbs. Thus, awkward primarily refers to action, clumsy to condition. A tool, a vehicle, or the human frame may be clumsy in shape or build, awkward in motion. The clumsy man is almost of necessity awkward, but the awkward man may not be naturally clumsy. The finest untrained colt is awkward in harness; a horse that is clumsy in build can never be trained out of awkwardness. An awkward statement has an uncomfortable, and perhaps recoiling force; a statement that contains ill-assorted and incongruous material in ill-chosen language is clumsy. We speak of an awkward predicament, an awkward scrape. An awkward excuse commonly reflects on the one who offers it. We say the admitted facts have an awkward appearance. In none of these cases could clumsy be used. Clumsy is, however, applied to movements that seem as unsuitable as those of benumbed and stiffened limbs. A dancing bear is both clumsy and awkward.

    Synonyms:
    awkward, boorish, bungling, clownish, gawky, maladroit, rough, uncouth, ungainly, unhandy, unskilful

    Antonyms:
    adroit, clever, dexterous, handy, skilful

    Preposition:
    The raw recruit is awkward in action; at the business.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms0.0 / 0 votes

  1. clumsy

    Synonyms:
    awkward, inexpert, uncouth, maladroit, botching, bungling, unskillful, unwieldly, unhandy, ill-shaped

    Antonyms:
    neat, workmanlike, artistic, handy, skillful, clever, expert, adroit, dexterous

Princeton's WordNet5.0 / 1 vote

  1. gawky, clumsy, clunky, ungainly, unwieldyadjective

    lacking grace in movement or posture

    "a gawky lad with long ungainly legs"; "clumsy fingers"; "what an ungainly creature a giraffe is"; "heaved his unwieldy figure out of his chair"

    Synonyms:
    incompetent, fumbling, inept, unmanageable, gawky, ill-chosen, bungling, inapt, ungainly, cumbersome, awkward, clunky, unwieldy, bunglesome

    Antonyms:
    felicitous, graceful, skilled, wieldy

  2. awkward, clumsy, cumbersome, inapt, inept, ill-chosenadjective

    not elegant or graceful in expression

    "an awkward prose style"; "a clumsy apology"; "his cumbersome writing style"; "if the rumor is true, can anything be more inept than to repeat it now?"

    Synonyms:
    cumbrous, unenviable, feckless, ungainly, ill-chosen, tactless, fumbling, inapt, gawky, awkward, bunglesome, cumbersome, bungling, inept, incompetent, unwieldy, embarrassing, clunky, ill at ease(p), uneasy, sticky

    Antonyms:
    felicitous, graceful, skilled, wieldy

  3. awkward, bunglesome, clumsy, ungainlyadjective

    difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape

    "an awkward bundle to carry"; "a load of bunglesome paraphernalia"; "clumsy wooden shoes"; "the cello, a rather ungainly instrument for a girl"

    Synonyms:
    unenviable, ungainly, ill-chosen, fumbling, inapt, gawky, awkward, bunglesome, cumbersome, bungling, inept, incompetent, unwieldy, embarrassing, clunky, ill at ease(p), uneasy, sticky

    Antonyms:
    skilled, felicitous, graceful, wieldy

  4. bungling, clumsy, fumbling, incompetentadjective

    showing lack of skill or aptitude

    "a bungling workman"; "did a clumsy job"; "his fumbling attempt to put up a shelf"

    Synonyms:
    butterfingered, handless, ill-chosen, fumbling, heavy-handed, unqualified, awkward, cumbersome, ungainly, bunglesome, unequal to(p), unskilled, bumbling, ham-handed, incompetent, unwieldy, ham-fisted, clunky, inapt, inept, bungling, incapable, gawky, left-handed

    Antonyms:
    graceful, skilled, wieldy, felicitous

Editors Contribution0.0 / 0 votes

  1. gouche

    Submitted by anonymous on December 28, 2020  

Dictionary of English Synonymes0.0 / 0 votes

  1. clumsyadjective

    Synonyms:
    unwieldy, ponderous, heavy, lumbering, ill-shaped, ill-made

  2. clumsyadjective

    Synonyms:
    awkward, unhandy, bungling, maladroit, inapt, unskilful, without dexterity

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words0.0 / 0 votes

  1. clumsyadjective

    Synonyms:
    ungraceful, lumbering, uncouth, unwieldy, unhandy, inapt, maladroit

PPDB, the paraphrase database0.0 / 0 votes

  1. List of paraphrases for "clumsy":

    awkward, heavy-handed, clumsiness, cumbersome, tactless, inept, sloppy

How to pronounce clumsy?

How to say clumsy in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

rankingword
#5548rough
#9246sticky
#17452awkward
#19258embarrassing
#20455incapable
#22327sloppy
#24911incompetent
#27419cumbersome
#27699uneasy
#28776clumsy
#29086unqualified
#35413unskilled
#41493inept
#57710fumbling
#58332clunky
#58750unwieldy
#64747unmanageable
#67008bumbling
#98549uncouth
#101812clumsiness
#108120bungling
#115658feckless
#116018unenviable
#117069boorish
#121797ungainly
#186155tactless
#196750maladroit
#197054gawky
#226052unskillful
#237471clownish
#257529botching
#286358inexpert
#291589inapt
#325606cumbrous

How to use clumsy in a sentence?

  1. Magha:

    A subtle-witted man is like an arrow, which, rending little surface, enters deeply, but they whose minds are dull resemble stones dashing with clumsy force, but never piercing.

  2. Geraldo Rivera:

    I'm generally pro-union, but this walkout was clumsy, it was spiteful. It was absolutely devastating for these children's well-being. Where are they going to eat, some of these families now? I think it's absolutely awful. This is … absolutely cruel what they have done to these children.

  3. H. G. Wells, 1903:

    The forceps of our minds are clumsy forceps, and crush the truth a little in taking hold of it.

  4. President Barack Obama:

    We know that in the application of the death penalty we've had recent cases, by any standard, it has not been swift and painless but rather gruesome and clumsy.

  5. E. M. Forster:

    A funeral is not death, any more than baptism is birth or marriage union. All three are the clumsy devices, coming now too late, now too early, by which Society would register the quick motions of man.


Translations for clumsy

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • أخرقArabic
  • несръчен, тромавBulgarian
  • neohrabaný, nemotorný, nešikovný, nevhodnýCzech
  • klobig, tollpatschig, schwerfällig, Tölpel, ungeschickt, sperrig, unhandlich, plump, unbeholfenGerman
  • αδέξιοςGreek
  • patoso, desmañado, torpeSpanish
  • rohmakas, kohmakasEstonian
  • چلاغ, قناس, چلفتیPersian
  • kömpelöFinnish
  • gauche, maladroitFrench
  • tútach, ciotach, liobarnachIrish
  • cearbach, liobastaScottish Gaelic
  • szakszerűtlen, esetlen, balkezes, ügyetlen, otrombaHungarian
  • անշնորհք, անփույթArmenian
  • impacciato, maldestro, rozzo, goffo, sgraziato, malfattoItalian
  • 不器用なJapanese
  • pakihawa, ninipa, pekengoheMāori
  • stuntelig, onhandigDutch
  • niezgrabny, niezdarnyPolish
  • atrapalhado, desajeitadoPortuguese
  • maladesterRomansh
  • neîndemânatic, butucănos, greoi, grosolan, stângaciRomanian
  • неловкий, неудобный, неповоротливый, неуклюжийRussian
  • otymplig, drumlig, klant, klantig, svårhanterlig, drummel, klumpig, osmidigSwedish
  • ซุ่มซ่ามThai
  • незграбнийUkrainian

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"clumsy." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/clumsy>.

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    Which of the following terms is not a synonym of "shopsoiled"?
    A well-worn
    B new
    C commonplace
    D hackneyed

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