Dictionary

unwieldy en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌʌnˈwɪəl.di/ (UK)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English unweldy, equivalent to un- + wieldy. Cognate with Old Frisian unweldich, unweldech (“having no power, involuntary”), Middle Dutch onweldich (“having no control or mastery over”), Middle Low German unweldich (“unwieldy”). Compare also Old High German unwaltīg (“powerless”), whence Middle High German unwaltic, German ungewaltig (“powerless, unmighty”).

Meanings

1. (obsolete) Lacking strength; weak.
2. (obsolete) Ungraceful in movement.
3. Difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate because of its size, weight, shape or complexity.
   • However, the constellation of Argo Navis was so huge and unwieldy that in the 1932 revision, the International Astronomical Union committee chopped it up into a keel (Carina), a poop (Puppis) and sails (Vela). 1985, Patrick Moore, Stargazing: Astronomy without a telescope, Aurum Press, →ISBN, page 18:
   • The railways that would be fused to create the unwieldy Northern Line were the City & South London and the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway, known as the 'Hampstead Tube'. 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 175:
   • Recorded music came in unwieldy packages and odd shapes. 2017 February 9, Rob Long, “Why I won’t invest in anything that involves effort”, in The National (UAE):
   • She is popular with passengers as an all-weather vessel, but rather the reverse with yachtsmen as she has at times proved somewhat unwieldy, and certainly takes up a good deal of space in the narrow channels. 1956 February, R. C. Riley, “The Lymington Railway and Isle of Wight Ferry”, in Railway Magazine, page 82:
4. Badly managed or operated.

Forms

Antonyms

wieldy

Deriveds

unwieldiness · unwieldily

Synonyms

unwieldsome · unmanageable

Translations (52)

ca immanejable (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · da uhåndterlig (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · nb uhåndterlig (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · no tungvinn (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · cs neohrabaný (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · hu ormótlan (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · pt imanejável (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · ga anásta (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · mi pūwheki (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · fi kömpelö (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · fi hankala (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · gv neuyesh (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · pl nieporęczny (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · mi pūheki (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · nn ulagleg (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · ga liobarnach (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · cmn 笨重的 (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · ru неподъёмный (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · eo maloportuna (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · bg неудобен (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · th ไม่คล่องตัว (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · es farragoso (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · pt imanuseável (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · pdt schwoafalich (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · th ไม่เหมาะมือ (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · fr encombrant (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · ca farragós (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · th อุ้ยอ้าย (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · cs nešikovný (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · fr lourd (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · nb uhandterlig (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · de klobig (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · nn uhandterleg (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · it scomodo (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · gv lheibeidjagh (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · la inhabilis (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · fr peu maniable (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · eo misportenda (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · th เทอะทะ (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · de schwerfällig (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · eo grandaĉa (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · de sperrig (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · gv trome (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · it ingombrante (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · eo malpraktika (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · ru неудобный (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · mi pūwhetī (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · nl log (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · sv otymplig (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · de unhandlich (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · gv meydlagh (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate) · mi pūhetī (difficult to carry, handle, manage or operate)