Unwieldy Meaning
/ˌʌnˈwɪəl.di/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjLacking strength; weak.
adjUngraceful in movement.
Sentence Examples
Two heaping handfuls of cheese made for a rather unwieldy quesadilla.
It was too unwieldy for me.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The large box was too ____ for one person to carry up the stairs.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new machine was quite ____ to use, requiring two people to operate it safely during the entire morning today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English unweldy, equivalent to un- + wieldy. Cognate with Old Frisian unweldich, unweldech (“having no power, involuntary”), Middle Dutch onweldich (“having no control or mastery over”), Middle Low German unweldich (“unwieldy”). Compare also Old High German unwaltīg (“powerless”), whence Middle High German unwaltic, German ungewaltig (“powerless, unmighty”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"She is popular with passengers as an all-weather vessel, but rather the reverse with yachtsmen as she has at times proved somewhat unwieldy, and certainly takes up a good deal of space in the narrow channels."
— 1956 February, R. C. Riley, “The Lymington Railway and Isle of Wight Ferry”, in Railway Magazine, page 82:
"However, the constellation of Argo Navis was so huge and unwieldy that in the 1932 revision, the International Astronomical Union committee chopped it up into a keel (Carina), a poop (Puppis) and sails (Vela)."
— 1985, Patrick Moore, Stargazing: Astronomy without a telescope, Aurum Press, →ISBN, page 18:
"The railways that would be fused to create the unwieldy Northern Line were the City & South London and the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway, known as the 'Hampstead Tube'."
— 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 175:
"Recorded music came in unwieldy packages and odd shapes."
— 2017 February 9, Rob Long, “Why I won’t invest in anything that involves effort”, in The National (UAE):
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The large box was too ____ for one person to carry up the stairs.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new machine was quite ____ to use, requiring two people to operate it safely during the entire morning today.