Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Easily wielded or managed.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Capable of wielding; dexterous; strong; active.
  • Capable of being wielded; manageable; wieldable; not unwieldy.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective rare Capable of being wielded; manageable; wieldable; -- opposed to unwieldy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective easily managed

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective easy to handle or use or manage

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Early Modern English, first attested in the late 16th century. Back-formation from unwieldy.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word wieldy.

Examples

  • I have Photoshop Elements, too, but it is too "wieldy" sometimes.

    Discussions: Message List - root 2010

  • If you can validate spending three times the cash for something a bit less wieldy in situations where you are constantly on the go, need it to be able to be used as a palmtop, etc, go ahead -- but for those of us using these, and able to enjoy them, the validationisn't there, and neither is it there for Apple's excuses as to why they won't create one of these beauties themselves.

    The Problems With A Hackintosh Netbook, Six Months Out | Lifehacker Australia 2009

  • I imagine the most wieldy weapon an "xkcd" character would have at it's disposal would be a piece of chalk, or something.

    The 'Riffs Interview: 'CYANIDE & HAPPINESS's' Dave McElfatrick tackles visas, viscera & American humor Michael Cavna 2010

  • With a limited pool of jobs, the program stands to be much more wieldy, but parents stand to get awful testy when they find out there's no room for their kids.

    D.C. summer jobs program reaches capacity 2011

  • The seats are comfortable; the driving position upright and natural; the leather-trimmed steering wheel with a flat bottom feels wieldy and right in your hands.

    The Beetle Mans Up Dan Neil 2011

  • If that's not going to be the case, with the super-structure of the EU so wieldy and its policy-making machinery a barrier to future economic efficiency, then its leaders and citizens have a problem.

    Europe is Acting as Though it Wants to be Left Behind 2010

  • The shift to a G20 has been welcome, but it will also mean a less wieldy system of global governance.

    Globalization Revolution 2010

  • Foursquare's website, currently the heavy baggage to its wieldy mobile platform, could become more central to the user experience.

    Foursquare Adds New Features The Huffington Post 2010

  • If you can validate spending three times the cash for something a bit less wieldy in situations where you are constantly on the go, need it to be able to be used as a palmtop, etc, go ahead -- but for those of us using these, and able to enjoy them, the validationisn't there, and neither is it there for Apple's excuses as to why they won't create one of these beauties themselves.

    The Problems With A Hackintosh Netbook, Six Months Out | Lifehacker Australia 2009

  • You can't have 60 Democrats all saying I need this project for my district, it's just -- the whole process becomes un-wieldy.

    CNN Transcript Nov 22, 2009 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.