lumpy

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   filled or covered with lumps; uneven rather than smooth

   The sauce remained lumpy even after several minutes of stirring.

2. 2
   adj

   heavy, awkward, or clumsy in appearance, movement, or style

   The actor crossed the stage with a lumpy, ungraceful gait.

3. 3
   adj

   rough with many short, irregular waves

   A lumpy sea made the small fishing boat pitch sharply.

Formed in the early eighteenth century from lump + the adjectival suffix -y. The earliest literal senses describe a surface or substance containing irregular masses. The shape suggested later senses for heavy or awkward movement and style, while rough water was likened to a surface broken into small lumps.

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