noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈklʌm.zi.nəs/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:K L AH1 M Z IY0 N AH0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A lack of coordination or elegance; the condition or quality of being clumsy.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
He dropped them not out of spite, but out of clumsiness.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
the inelegance of someone stiff and unrelaxed (as by embarrassment)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: awkwardness, gracelessness, stiffness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: inelegance
Narrower terms: woodenness, rusticity, gaucherie
3
noun
Meaning 3
the carriage of someone whose movements and posture are ungainly or inelegant
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Etymology tree English clumsy Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English clumsiness From clumsy + -ness.
Across languages
Translations
30 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Chinese Mandarin:
笨拙
(bènzhuō)
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Finnish:
kömpelyys
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
French:
maladresse
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
French:
inélégance
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Georgian:
მოუქნელობა
(moukneloba)
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
German:
Ungeschicklichkeit
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
German:
Plumpheit
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
German:
Unbeholfenheit
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Greek:
αδεξιότητα
(adexiótita)
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Hungarian:
ügyetlenség
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Irish:
liopastacht
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Irish:
amscaíocht
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Irish:
ciotrúntacht
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Italian:
goffaggine
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Italian:
inettitudine
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Italian:
sgraziataggine
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Japanese:
ふき
(fuki)
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Japanese:
ドジ
(doji)
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Japanese:
不手際
(futegiwa)
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Kapampangan:
kaburaldalan
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Kapampangan:
keburaldalan
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Portuguese:
desajeitamento
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Russian:
неуклю́жесть
(neukljúžestʹ)
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Russian:
неповоро́тливость
(nepovorótlivostʹ)
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Serbo-Croatian:
гло̏ма̄зно̄ст
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Serbo-Croatian:
не̏згра̄пно̄ст
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Serbo-Croatian:
glȍmāznōst
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Serbo-Croatian:
nȅzgrāpnōst
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Swedish:
klumpighet
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
Swedish:
klantighet
— the condition or quality of being clumsy
