mal·a·droit

(măl′ə-droit′)

adj.

Marked by a lack of adroitness; inept.

An inept person.

[French : mal-, mal- + adroit, adroit; see adroit.]

mal′a·droit′ly adv.

mal′a·droit′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

maladroit

(ˌmæləˈdrɔɪt)

adj

1. showing or characterized by clumsiness; not dexterous

2. tactless and insensitive in behaviour or speech

[C17: from French, from mal badly + adroit]

ˌmalaˈdroitly adv

ˌmalaˈdroitness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mal•a•droit

(ˌmæl əˈdrɔɪt)

adj.

lacking in adroitness; awkward.

[1665–75; < French, Middle French]

mal`a•droit′ly, adv.

mal`a•droit′ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

maladroit - not adroit; "a maladroit movement of his hand caused the car to swerve"; "a maladroit translation"; "maladroit propaganda"

awkward - lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance; "an awkward dancer"; "an awkward gesture"; "too awkward with a needle to make her own clothes"; "his clumsy fingers produced an awkward knot"

adroit - quick or skillful or adept in action or thought; "an exceptionally adroit pianist"; "an adroit technician"; "his adroit replies to hecklers won him many followers"; "an adroit negotiator"

maladroit

adjective clumsy, awkward, bungling, inept, cack-handed (informal), inexpert, unskilful, unhandy, ham-fisted or ham-handed (informal) Some of his first interviews with the press were rather maladroit.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

maladroit

adjective

1. Lacking dexterity and grace in physical movement:

awkward, clumsy, gawky, graceless, inept, lumpish, ungainly, ungraceful.

Slang: klutzy.

Idiom: all thumbs.

2. Clumsily lacking in the ability to do or perform:

awkward, bumbling, clumsy, gauche, heavy-handed, inept, unskillful.

3. Lacking sensitivity and skill in dealing with others:

brash, clumsy, gauche, impolitic, indelicate, tactless, undiplomatic, unpolitic, untactful.

Translations

maldestro goffo

onbeholpen onhandig

klossete ubehjelpelig

maladroit

[ˈmæləˈdrɔɪt] ADJ → torpe

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

maladroit

adj, maladroitly

adv → ungeschickt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

maladroit

[ˌmæləˈdrɔɪt] adj → maldestro/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Out of which maladroit delay sprang anxieties, disappointments, shocks, catastrophes, and passing-strange destinies.

View in context

It is easy enough to spoil the lives of our neighbors without taking so much trouble; we can do it by lazy acquiescence and lazy omission, by trivial falsities for which we hardly know a reason, by small frauds neutralized by small extravagances, by maladroit flatteries, and clumsily improvised insinuations.

View in context

"The snare is rather MALADROIT for the cardinal," replied the young man, smiling.

View in context

Moreover, maladroit butchers should not be allowed to slaughter sacrificial anAimals.

Abattoirs and maladroit butchers

And should you detect a note of relief on Belvedia's face as she meets her end and so leaves us - well, as far as this maladroit production is concerned, it is perfectly understandable.

REVIEW

On the negative side, scaled-for-one houses and mortgages are hard to find, and while singles in their twenties are viewed as enviable, singles in their forties are often seen as self-centered or socially maladroit. Still, fewer people marrying for the wrong reasons means fewer divorces, a benefitA to the entire culture.

Happy Singlehood; The Rising Acceptance and Celebration of Solo Living

triad, told, toad, tidal, road, raid, radio, radial, mold, modal, mild, maid, lord, load, lard, laird, laid, idol, drat, drama, dram, dorm, dolt, dirt, diorama, dilator, diatom, dial, data, dart, arid, amid, adroit, admit, admiral, adit, MALADROIT Wordsquare: V.

QUIZ

Gingrich advances towards the speaker's gavel, facing down a series of increasingly maladroit foes culminating in Clinton himself, who fumbles the first two years of his presidency.

Clinton, Gingrich and America's deep divide

Going into last year's general election, the polls showed a wide Conservative lead, one that Jeremy Corbyn's vigorous campaign and Theresa May's maladroit one combined to reduce to 2% by polling day.

Is Labour ready?

Murphy said British Labour's top team had been "intellectually arrogant, emotionally inept and politically maladroit".

Murphy: Labour have turned backs on Jews

TRAIN's most maladroit feature is its abandonment of minimum wage earners who gain nothing, but are now squeezed for more taxes to replace funds the government keeps losing.

Stopping corruption eliminates need to raise taxes

The work squarely fell into that maladroit genre known as "residency art," in which an artist attempts to situate a practice in an unfamiliar terrain as well as to "report findings"--resulting in generic observations and equally generic images.

Brian Conley: PIEROGI