clumsy

[ kluhm-zee ]
/ ˈklʌm zi /

adjective, clum·si·er, clum·si·est.

awkward in movement or action; without skill or grace: He is very clumsy and is always breaking things.
awkwardly done or made; unwieldy; ill-contrived: He made a clumsy, embarrassed apology.

Origin of clumsy

1590–1600; clums benumbed with cold (now obsolete) + -y1; akin to Middle English clumsen to be stiff with cold, dialectal Swedish klumsig benumbed, awkward, klums numbskull, Old Norse klumsa lockjaw. See clam2

ANTONYMS FOR clumsy

2 adroit, skillful.

OTHER WORDS FROM clumsy

clum·si·ly, adverb clum·si·ness, noun

Words nearby clumsy

cluj, cluj-napoca, clumber spaniel, clump, clumping, clumsy, clunes, clung, cluniac, clunk, clunker

Words related to clumsiest

bulky, ungainly, unwieldy, inept, ponderous, heavy-handed, bungling, crude, elephantine, gauche, gawky, graceless, heavy, helpless, hulking, incompetent, inelegant, inexperienced, inexpert, lumbering

Example sentences from the Web for clumsiest

British Dictionary definitions for clumsiest

clumsy
/ (ˈklʌmzɪ) /

adjective -sier or -siest

lacking in skill or physical coordination
awkwardly constructed or contrived

Derived forms of clumsy

clumsily, adverb clumsiness, noun

Word Origin for clumsy

C16 (in obsolete sense: benumbed with cold; hence, awkward): perhaps from C13 dialect clumse to benumb, probably from Scandinavian; compare Swedish dialect klumsig numb