ham-fisted
5
8.6
- adjective
- /hæmˈfɪstɪd/
- Offensive
:
torpe
- His ham-fisted attempts at fixing the car only made the problem worse.
- a ham-fisted attempt
- ham-fisted ways
Some will do it in a very ham fisted and short sighted way.
- Some will do it in a very ham fisted and short sighted way.
Examples
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The teacher's ham-fisted approach to discipline left the students feeling resentful.
-
Other analysts have argued that the test was a ham-fisted attempt to focus international attention on the need to ban weapons in space.
Academic text (2007) -
Harry was a large, ham-fisted man who had made it big in ceramic pipe.
Fiction book (1991) -
The last thing your ham-fisted political ploy... will get you is four stars.
-
So far, governments worldwide have tended to promote renewable power in ham-fisted ways, spending money inefficiently.
Academic text (2012) -
The army's ham-fisted approach to the unique problems of the frontier irritated and alienated the indigenous tribesmen.
Academic text (2011) -
She was criticized for her ham-fisted handling of the presentation, which confused everyone.
Synonyms
73
1.2
Moving in an awkward, unsteady way that causes accidents
7
7.3
Acting awkward and clumsy in movement or when handling things
6
4.8
Not able to move with control so movements look clumsy
3
8.3
Not careful and clumsy when using hands or doing tasks
1
6.8
Clumsy and not skilled, often making mistakes
1
6.3
Clumsy when using the hands, often dropping or breaking things
1
9.9
Seems clumsy and awkward in movement, often like someone new at sea
Not good with your hands and clumsy
Clumsy with hands when doing simple tasks
Someone who often drops things with their hands
Antonyms
How Clumsy
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word ham-fisted comes from the image of a hand like ham ('meaty') together with fist, the closed hand. A helpful way to remember it is to imagine heavy, clumsy hands that break things, which is why ham-fisted means 'clumsy' or 'awkward'.