maladroit C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˌmæləˈdrɔɪt/ UK /ˌmæləˈdrɔɪt/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj clumsy or inept; lacking skill or tact His maladroit handling of the question offended everyone. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · clumsy or inept; lacking... clumsyineptawkwardbunglinggaucheunskillfultactless ↔ Opposites adroitskillfuldeftdexteroustactful Word family Derived forms maladroitlymaladroitness Related forms adroit Etymology AI details From French maladroit, from mal ('badly', from Latin male) + adroit ('skillful', from a droit 'rightly', from Latin directus 'straight'). mal Middle English male Middle English directus Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # maladroit **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˌmæləˈdrɔɪt/ **IPA (UK):** /ˌmæləˈdrɔɪt/ ## Meanings 1. clumsy or inept; lacking skill or tact ## Examples - His maladroit handling of the question offended everyone. ## Synonyms - clumsy - inept - awkward - bungling - gauche - unskillful - tactless ## Antonyms - adroit - skillful - deft - dexterous - tactful ## Derived Forms - maladroitly - maladroitness ## Related Forms - adroit ## Roots and Affixes - Root: mal - Root: male - Root: directus ## Etymology From French maladroit, from mal ('badly', from Latin male) + adroit ('skillful', from a droit 'rightly', from Latin directus 'straight'). ## AI Etymology Maladroit comes from French maladroit, from mal ('badly', from Latin male) + adroit ('skillful', from a droit 'rightly', from Latin directus 'straight'). The etymological trail includes French mal, Latin male, Latin directus. The same word family includes maladroitly, maladroitness, adroit. Its current adjective use means "clumsy or inept; lacking skill or tact". ## Topics - Describing Qualities markdown