cack-handed

adjective

ˈkak-ˌhan-dəd How to pronounce cack-handed (audio)
Definition of cack-handednext
British
as in clumsy
lacking or showing a lack of nimbleness in using one's hands some duffer with a cack-handed grip on his golf club

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of cack-handed In the short term, the cack-handed control by the Chavistas will be replaced by other, more diffuse mechanisms of power and probably grayer, more pragmatic personalities. — Caroline Mimbs Nyce, New Yorker, 4 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cack-handed
  1. clumsy
  2. awkward
Adjective
  • Such episodes now look like clumsy moments in a decade of dissembling.
    — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Yirenki’s challenge on Christos Tzolis is clumsy, but well short of a first yellow card, let alone a second.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of clumsy
Adjective
  • Lug a bulky, awkward, bear-proof canister to store your food so you don’t get mauled.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • That puts the conference’s universities in an awkward—and potentially paradoxical—position of promoting a product that researchers within their academic departments have raised concerns about.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of awkward

Browse Nearby Words

cachinnations
cack-handed
cackle
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Cite this Entry

“Cack-handed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cack-handed. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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