clumsy

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈklʌmzi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

clumsy (comparative clumsier, superlative clumsiest)

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

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

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

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

   What a clumsy joke

   • 1600 or 1601 (date written), I. M. [i.e., John Marston], “The Prologue”, in Antonios Reuenge. The Second Part. […], London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, and are to be soulde [by Matthew Lownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC, signature A2, recto:

     The ravviſh danke of clumzie vvinter ramps / The fluent ſummers vaine: and drizling ſleete / Chilleth the vvan bleak cheek of the numd earth, / VVhilſt ſnarling guſts nibble the iuyceles leaues, / From the nak't ſhuddring branch; […]

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

Derived terms

• beclumpse
• clumsily
• clumsiness

 

Translations

awkward, lacking coordination, not graceful, not dextrous

• Arabic: أَخْرَق (ʔaḵraq)

  Egyptian Arabic: متكعبل m (mitkaʕbil), أهوج m (ahwag), أرعن m (arʕan)

• Armenian: անփույթ (hy) (anpʻuytʻ)
• Azerbaijani: hozəki
• Belarusian: нязгра́бны (njazhrábny)
• Bulgarian: тромав (bg) (tromav), несръчен (bg) (nesrǎčen)
• Catalan: maldestre (ca), barroer (ca), sapastre
• Cebuano: gukam, kumaw
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 粗笨 (zh) (cūbèn), 笨 (zh) (bèn)

• Czech: nemotorný, neohrabaný
• Dutch: onhandig (nl), stuntelig (nl)
• Esperanto: mallerta
• Estonian: kohmakas (et)
• Finnish: kömpelö (fi)
• French: empoté (fr), gauche (fr), lourd (fr), maladroit (fr)
• Galician: torpe (gl) m or f, zoupón, zoupeiro (gl)
• German: tollpatschig (de), ungeschickt (de), unbeholfen (de), schwerfällig (de), plump (de), klobig (de)
• Greek: αδέξιος (el) (adéxios)

  Ancient Greek: ἀδέξιος (adéxios)

• Hindi: बेढंगा (beḍhaṅgā), बेसलीक़ा (beslīqā), फूहड़ (hi) (phūhaṛ)
• Hungarian: balkezes (hu), esetlen (hu), ügyetlen (hu)
• Icelandic: klaufalegur (is)
• Ido: plumpa (io)
• Irish: ciotach, tútach, liobarnach, amscaí
• Italian: goffo (it), impacciato (it), maldestro (it)
• Japanese: 不器用な (ja) (ぶきような, bukiyō na), ぶきっちょ (bukitcho)
• Kapampangan: buraldal
• Korean: 서투르다 (ko) (seotureuda)
• Latin: inconcinnus
• Macedonian: несмасен (nesmasen), трапав (trapav), тромав (tromav), смотан (smotan)
• Maori: pakihawa, ninipa, pekengohe, tahangoi
• Norman: maladrait
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: klønete (no), klønet, klossete, klosset, trehendt

  Nynorsk: klønete, klossete

• Persian: چلفتی (fa) (čolofti)
• Plautdietsch: onjeschekjt
• Polish: niezdarny (pl) m, niezgrabny (pl)
• Portuguese: desajeitado (pt), atrapalhado (pt), desastrado (pt), despassarado m (Portugal)
• Romanian: stângaci (ro), neîndemânatic (ro), greoi (ro)
• Romansch: maladester
• Russian: неуклю́жий (ru) (neukljúžij), нело́вкий (ru) (nelóvkij), неповоро́тливый (ru) (nepovorótlivyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: cearbach, liobasta
• Serbo-Croatian: šlampav (sh), trapav (sh)
• Slovene: neroden (sl)
• Spanish: patoso, torpe (es), desmañado (es), bruto (es), taba (es) m or f (Peru)
• Swedish: klumpig (sv), klantig (sv), drumlig
• Tagalog: asiwa
• Thai: ซุ่มซ่าม (th) (sûm-sâam), เงอะงะ (th) (ngə́-ngá)
• Turkish: sakar (tr)
• Ukrainian: незгра́бний (nezhrábnyj)
• Vietnamese: vụng về (vi)
• Yiddish: לעפּיש (lepish)

not elegant or well-planned

• Armenian: անշնորհք (hy) (anšnorhkʻ)
• Czech: nevhodný (cs)
• Dutch: onhandig (nl)
• Estonian: rohmakas
• Finnish: kömpelö (fi)
• German: tollpatschig (de), ungeschickt (de), plump (de), klobig (de)
• Hindi: भद्दा (hi) (bhaddā), बेढंगा (beḍhaṅgā), बेडौल (hi) (beḍaul)
• Hungarian: ügyetlen (hu), otromba (hu), szakszerűtlen (hu)
• Irish: tútach, ciotach, amscaí
• Italian: malfatto (it), rozzo (it), sgraziato (it)
• Latin: inelegans m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: klønete (no), klønete (no), klossete, klosset

  Nynorsk: klønete, klossete

• Persian: قناس (fa) (qenâs)
• Portuguese: desgracioso (pt)
• Romanian: grosolan (ro)
• Russian: гру́бый (ru) (grúbyj), некраси́вый (ru) (nekrasívyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: mì-innealta
• Serbo-Croatian: glomazan (sh), nezgrapan (sh), trapav (sh)
• Spanish: torpe (es)
• Swedish: osmidig (sv)

awkward or inefficient in use or construction

• Czech: nešikovný (cs)
• German: unbeholfen (de), unhandlich, klobig (de), sperrig (de), plump (de)
• Hindi: भद्दा (hi) (bhaddā), बेढंगा (beḍhaṅgā), हबड़ा (hi) (habṛā), बेडौल (hi) (beḍaul)
• Italian: grossolano (it)
• Latin: inhabilis
• Polish: niezgrabny (pl) m
• Romanian: grosolan (ro), butucănos (ro)
• Russian: неудо́бный (ru) (neudóbnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: nezgrapan (sh), glomazan (sh)
• Spanish: torpe (es)
• Swedish: otymplig (sv), klumpig (sv), svårhanterlig (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} ngathët (sq)
• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} أخرق
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} mallerta
• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} უხეში (uxeši)
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} גַּמְלוֹנִי (he)
• Hindi: ^{(please verify)} अदक्ष (hi) (adakṣ)
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} canggung (id)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} impacciato (it)
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 繁雑 (ja) (はんざつ, hanzatsu)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 서투른 (seotureun)
• Latvian: ^{(please verify)} neveikls
• Mongolian: ^{(please verify)} болхи (mn) (bolxi)
• Persian: ^{(please verify)} کیری
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} неспретан

  Roman: ^{(please verify)} nespretan (sh)

• Slovak: ^{(please verify)} nemotorný
• Swahili: ^{(please verify)} dole
• Thai: ^{(please verify)} ซุ่มซ่าม (th) (sûm-sâam)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} hantal (tr)
• Ukrainian: ^{(please verify)} незграбний (nezhrabnyj)
• Uyghur: ^{(please verify)} kalanpay
• Vietnamese: ^{(please verify)} vụng (vi)
• Welsh: ^{(please verify)} afrosgo (cy)

Noun

clumsy (plural clumsies)

1. (informal, fairly rare) A clumsy person.
   • 1934, P[amela] L[yndon] Travers, “Bad Tuesday”, in Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins; 1), London: Gerald Howe Ltd […], →OCLC, page 82:

     On the stairs he met Ellen, the housemaid, and as he passed her he knocked the hot-water jug out of her hand. “Well, you are a clumsy,” said Ellen, as she bent down to mop up the water.

Synonyms

• butterfingers
• galoot
• klutz

Translations

clumsy person

• German: Tölpel (de) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kløne m or f, klossmajor m, klodrian m

• Persian: چلاغ (čolâğ)
• Spanish: taba (es) m or f (Peru)
• Swedish: , klant (sv) c, drummel (sv) c

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Hindi: ^{(please verify)} भोंदू (bhondū)

See also

• clumsies

Anagrams

• cumyls, muscly