unwieldy
adjective
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The Difference Between Wieldy and Unwieldy
The verb to wield means "to handle or exert something effectively." A carpenter might wield a hammer with impressive dexterity, for example, or a talented orator might wield influence over an audience of listeners. Something that is "wieldy" is capable of being wielded easily, and while that adjective may not be particularly common, its antonym "unwieldy" finds ample use to describe anything that is awkward to handle, move, or manage. "Wield" and its relatives all derive via Middle English from Old English wieldan, meaning "to control."
Synonyms
Examples of unwieldy in a Sentence
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2024
The embodiment of that bet was the development and release, in 2016, of an unwieldy $3,000-or-more headset called the HoloLens, which presented a digital layer over the view of the world in its visor.
—Steven Levy, WIRED, 21 Nov. 2024
Ulmann’s designer dress, her unwieldy and anachronistic Korona View camera, and her 1929 Lincoln, complete with chauffeur, marked her as an outsider in the small, isolated hamlets that dotted the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
—April White, JSTOR Daily, 18 Nov. 2024
The unwieldy best-of-three format, on the other hand, fits like a square peg in a round hole.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for unwieldy 
Dictionary Entries Near unwieldy
Cite this Entry
“Unwieldy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unwieldy. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
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unwieldy
adjective
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