ham-handedly

adverb

as in clumsily

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ham-handedly
  1. clumsily
  2. ineptly
  3. awkwardly
  4. gracelessly
Adverb
  • All the while, the question of whether they’re related by blood lurks in the background, kicked slowly down the road until the finale clumsily throws it into focus.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 23 Sep. 2026
  • What detracts from the film is the clumsily emphatic foreshadowing of a dramatic plot turn, which is pretty much spelled out by an alarm company technician who sells Miguel on the wisdom of upgrading to a next-level home security system.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of clumsily
Adverb
  • The collapse of the Constitution’s balance of powers between three branches of government got us into an unneeded war conducted ineptly.
    — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
  • Dancing the Poznan really ineptly, mind you, but dancing nonetheless.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 8 Sep. 2025
Definition of ineptly
Adverb
  • The officer stops at the pillar between the car’s windows, such that the driver must crane their neck backward to make eye contact and could only open fire awkwardly.
    — Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The camera ends with Hilton and Becerra standing awkwardly and not shaking hands.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of awkwardly
Adverb
  • This kind of beauty has nothing to do with perfection, which is distributed so arbitrarily and approximated so gracelessly.
    — Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 11 July 2026
Definition of gracelessly
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

ham-handed
ham-handedly
ham-handedness
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Cite this Entry

“Ham-handedly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ham-handedly. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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