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# clumsy

«clumsy» in Mova's school dictionary: **A clumsy person moves in an awkward, careless way, and…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (clumsy, clumsier, clumsiest)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A clumsy person moves in an awkward, careless way, and often drops, bumps or breaks things. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/#m1)

2) A clumsy thing is big, heavy and hard to use or move. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/#m2)

3) Clumsy words or actions are not done well or sensitively: «a clumsy apology». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life, everyone can be clumsy sometimes, especially when tired or growing fast. In stories, clumsy characters (a clumsy giant, a clumsy puppy) are often funny. In writing lessons, a «clumsy sentence» is awkward and needs rewriting. Phrases: «clumsy fingers», «a clumsy mistake», «a clumsy attempt».

### examples

- I'm so clumsy — I knocked over my drink again. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/#x1)
- The clumsy puppy tripped over its own paws. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/#x2)
- My fingers felt clumsy in the thick gloves. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/#x3)
- The giant was big and clumsy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/#x4)
- That's a clumsy sentence; try to make it shorter. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/#x5)
- He made a clumsy attempt to say sorry. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/#x6)
- The old wardrobe was too clumsy to carry upstairs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/#x7)
- Be careful, don't be clumsy with the glass bowl. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/#x8)
- “‘I wonder if that farmer thought to fool me in this clumsy manner. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/#x9)

### note

Spelling: clumsy (no «b»: not «clumbsy»). Comparatives: clumsier, clumsiest. Adverb: clumsily; noun: clumsiness. Opposite: graceful, nimble. Being clumsy is not being bad — be kind if someone drops something.

### In the corpora

- [People hope robots and AI will help with boring chores, but real home robots are still clumsy and expensive.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/24-future-hopes/6/)
- [Toad keeps his temper, though he finds their jokes «poor and clumsy».](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/53-willows-ch8-part2-the-washerwoman/23/)
- [Reading your work aloud helps you hear missing words, clumsy sentences and tense slips.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/43-editing-and-redrafting/7/)
- [English borrowed gauche to mean clumsy and adroit (from à droit) to mean skilful.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/french/22-the-town-and-directions/6/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «clumsy» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clumsy/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.