clumsy

Formsclumsier, clumsiest

Pluralclumsies

1. 1
   adjective

   Moving or acting in an awkward way, without grace or coordination.

   The toddler was still clumsy, stumbling over toys as he crossed the room.

   A clumsy waiter knocked over three glasses during the dinner rush.

   Similarawkward, uncoordinated, ungainly, graceless, gawky

   Oppositegraceful, agile, nimble, dexterous

   Note

   This is the bodily sense, and the word's uncertain history points straight to it. One suggested source is clumsed, "benumbed"; another is clumse, "a lout", with -y added. The numbness story fits especially well, because clumsy hands are hands that will not obey. It compares as clumsier and clumsiest, and it describes people and their movements, while objects have their own awkward meaning.

2. 2
   adjective

   Difficult to handle or use because of an awkward shape, size, or design.

   The early prototype was clumsy, with its controls placed where no one could reach them.

   Carrying the clumsy, oversized box up the narrow stairs took both of them.

   Similarunwieldy, awkward, cumbersome, bulky

   Oppositehandy, convenient, manageable

3. 3
   adjective

   Awkward or poorly handled, lacking tact, subtlety, or careful planning.

   The negotiation collapsed after a clumsy remark about the other side's budget.

   Critics called the new policy a clumsy attempt to please everyone at once.

   Similarawkward, tactless, inept, heavy-handed, crude

   Oppositetactful, deft, skillful, subtle

   Note

   Here the awkwardness moves from the hands to the mind. A clumsy solution, a clumsy joke or a clumsy remark is badly made rather than badly carried. John Marston, writing in 1600 or 1601, speaks of "clumzie winter" alongside "the numd earth", a pairing that echoes the numbness behind the bodily sense. In everyday use the word faults how something was done, and it often allows that the thing may still work.

4. 4
   nouncolloquialcountable

   An awkward, uncoordinated person; one given to tripping, fumbling, or knocking things over.

   The new waiter turned out to be a hopeless clumsy, dropping trays all evening.

   She laughed off being a clumsy after spilling wine across the table.

   Similarklutz, oaf, butterfingers

   Note

   A noun made directly from the adjective, and a fairly rare, informal one. P. L. Travers gives it to a housemaid in Mary Poppins (1934), who says "Well, you are a clumsy" after a jug is knocked from her hand. It takes an article like any countable noun, and its plural is clumsies. Outside that kind of everyday scolding, most speakers would say "a clumsy person" instead.

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