lubberly

1 9.9

Seems clumsy and awkward in movement, often like someone new at sea

adjective
/ˈlʌbərli/

Archaic

: torpe

Her lubberly movements on the boat caused her to trip over the ropes and nearly fall overboard.

Examples

It too seems to assume a young or at least green and lubberly readership, which it at times addresses with the bluff facetiousness of a familiar sort of schoolmaster:

Academic text (1996)
The lubberly sailor stumbled over his own feet while trying to navigate the deck.
Despite his enthusiasm, he was quite lubberly at sailing, struggling to keep the boat steady.

Synonyms

clumsy

vslubberly

73 1.2

Moving in an awkward, unsteady way that causes accidents

is often used about sea inexperience rather than only general awkwardness

bumbling

vslubberly

7 7.3

Acting awkward and clumsy in movement or when handling things

focuses on clumsiness without suggesting confusion or hesitation

ham-fisted

vslubberly

Offensive

5 8.6

Clumsy and not good with their hands

refers to general clumsiness not only limited to hand use

unskillful

vslubberly

1 4.4

Not able to do something well

emphasizes awkward movement and manner rather than general poor skill

maladroit

vslubberly

1 9.3

Awkward and not good at handling people or situations

highlights physical clumsiness rather than social awkwardness

heavy-handed

vslubberly

1 6.3

Clumsy when using the hands, often dropping or breaking things

includes awkward movement but not necessarily forceful behaviour

unhandy

vslubberly

5.2

Clumsy with hands when doing simple tasks

covers clumsy movement and manners more generally, not only object handling

landlubberly

vslubberly

Archaic

9.9

Not experienced on ships and clumsy on deck

often describes clumsy or inexperienced behaviour at sea rather than on land

lunkheaded

vslubberly

Offensive

9.8

Being very foolish and clumsy in how someone thinks or acts

focuses on clumsiness and seamanship in use, not on low intelligence

Antonyms

skilled

172 3.5

Having special training and ability to do a job well

graceful

87 2.8

Movement that is smooth and attractive like a dancer or swan

How Clumsy

inept

49 5.0

lubberly

Archaic

1 9.9

bumbling

7 7.3

awkward

33 3.0

Surface Forms

lubberly positive

Morphology

lubberly = lubber (semi-transparent) = lubber + ly

Formation is a regular adjective from 'lubber' with '-ly', but 'lubber' is relatively rare/archaic and may be unfamiliar to learners.

Etymology

Lubberly comes from lubber, an old word for a 'clumsy' person, and you can still see it in landlubber, a 'land' person who is clumsy at sea. So lubberly means 'clumsy' or inexperienced, especially in movement or on a ship.