clumsy

CEFRC1

/ˈklʌmzi/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Often moving awkwardly and dropping or breaking things.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Awkward or inefficient in use or construction, difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape.

Examples

  • Her movements were awkward and her gesture clumsy.

  • The clumsy man envied her extraordinary talent.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
2
Synonyms
4

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Not elegant or well-planned, lacking tact or subtlety.

  2. Awkward, lacking coordination, not graceful, not dextrous.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A clumsy person.

More examples

In context

  • This scheme is clumsy production wise.

  • He's very clumsy. I wouldn't trust him with carrying the dishes.

  • It is a clumsy solution, but it might work for now.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank waiter tripped over a chair and spilled soup on a guest.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Possibly from an alteration of clumsed (“benumbed”) or from clumse (“a stupid fellow; lout”) + -y. More at clumse.